Millions of Americans caught up in China's hacking plot – US

The Justice Department and the FBI said Monday that the online accounts of millions of Americans were caught up in a “vicious” Chinese hacking plot that targeted U.S. officials.

Seven Chinese nationals have been charged with waging a large-scale cyber attack campaign.

They are accused of being linked to a piracy operation that lasted for 14 years.

The US State Department announced a reward of up to $10 million for anyone who provides information about the seven men.

The Justice Department said the hackers targeted Chinese and foreign critics, American and foreign businesses and politicians.

The seven men allegedly sent more than 10,000 “malicious emails, affecting thousands of victims, across multiple continents,” in what the Justice Department called a “prolific global hacking operation” supported by the Chinese government.

“Today’s announcement exposes China’s ongoing and reckless efforts to undermine our country’s cybersecurity and target Americans and our innovations,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said.

He added: “As long as China continues to target the United States and our partners, the FBI will continue to send a clear message that cyber espionage will not be tolerated, and we will tirelessly pursue those who threaten our country's security and prosperity.”

The accusations come after the UK government also accused China of being responsible for “malicious cyber campaigns” targeting the country's electoral commission and politicians.

The Chinese embassy in London said it “strongly opposes” these accusations, describing them as “completely fabricated and malicious slander.” The Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C., has not yet responded to the American accusations.

In the indictment outlining the charges against the seven Chinese men, US prosecutors said the hacking led to the confirmed or probable compromise of business accounts, personal emails, online storage and phone call logs.

Emails accused of sending targets often appear to come from prominent news outlets or journalists, and contain hidden tracking links. If someone opened the email sent to them, their information — including their location and IP addresses — would be sent to a server allegedly controlled by the seven defendants.

This information was then used to enable more “direct and sophisticated targeted hacking, such as hacking recipients' home routers and other electronic devices,” US prosecutors said.

In addition to targeting US government officials working in the White House and US State Departments, and in some cases their spouses, they are also said to have targeted foreign dissidents globally.

In one example cited by the Department of Justice, the men “successfully compromised pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong and their associates based in Hong Kong, the United States, and other foreign locations using similar malware.”

US companies were also hacked, with the men allegedly targeting the defence, ICT, manufacturing, trade, finance, consulting, legal and research industries.

The Justice Department said the companies targeted included defense contractors providing services to the US military and “a leading provider of 5G network equipment.”