3 times China has hacked the U.S.

Ruddy Cano
Apr 29, 2020 3:50 PM PDT
1 minute read
3 times China has hacked the U.S.

SUMMARY

China’s insatiable hunger to become the apex superpower of the world, and the manner in which they do it is a threat to our way of life. For decades corporations have intentionally failed to raise the alarm to our government about the th…

China's insatiable hunger to become the apex superpower of the world, and the manner in which they do it is a threat to our way of life. For decades corporations have intentionally failed to raise the alarm to our government about the theft of intellectual property fearing an immediate cease of business with the Chinese. Corporations have silenced themselves against communist China fearing retribution and sold out the American people in the process.


Emboldened by appeasement, the regime now deliberately targets our national security apparatus to destroy us using our own technology.

Trade, our mutually beneficial common ground that our two ideologies stood on, has become the very source of tension between us. This is nothing new, China has always been an enemy of the west, quietly stealing our national treasures and sabotaging our infrastructure. There is no underhanded tactic that the People's Republic of China won't lower themselves to as long as it means victory for the dishonorable state. These are the 3 times China has hacked the U.S.

"For too long, the Chinese government has blatantly sought to use cyber espionage to obtain economic advantage for its state-owned industries," said former FBI Director James B. Comey.

DoD.defense.gov

First time criminal charges are filed against known state actors for hacking

On May 19, 2014, The Western District of Pennsylvania (WDPA) indicted five Chinese state-sponsored hackers for targeting six American entities in the U.S. nuclear power, metals, and solar products industries. The attacks were a coordinated assault to steal state secrets that would directly benefit State-Owned Enterprises in China. The stolen data would reveal our strategies and vulnerabilities to the enemy.

The victims of these attacks on our soil were: Westinghouse Electric Co., U.S. subsidiaries of SolarWorld AG, United States Steel Corp., Allegheny Technologies Inc., the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union (USW) and Alcoa Inc.

The hackers performed a wide variety of criminal acts that include:

  • 1 count of Conspiring to commit computer fraud and abuse.
  • 9 counts of Accessing (or attempting to access) a protected computer without authorization to obtain information for the purpose of commercial advantage and private financial gain.
  • 23 counts of Transmitting a program, information, code, or command with the intent to cause damage to protected computers.
  • 29 counts of Aggravated identity theft.
  • 30 counts of Economic espionage.
  • 31 counts of Trade secret theft.

Another hacker related to this case wanted by the FBI

DOJ

Chinese military hacked into the computer networks of major U.S. defense contractors

On July 13,2016, Su Bin, a citizen of the People's Republic of China that was sentenced to 4 years with a ,000 fine by United States District Judge Christina A. Snyder.

Su was communicating with the Chinese military and informing them of targets and their vulnerabilities, which files to steal and how it would benefit their government. Su stole military and export-controlled data and sent the stolen data to China.

He targeted the aviation and aerospace fields in order to steal military technical data. This is particularly problematic for our armed forces because he stole data relating to the C-17 transport aircraft and fighter jets produced for the U.S. military. Su was arrested in Canada in July 2014 and extradited to the United States in February 2016.

He admitted that as part of the conspiracy, he sent e-mails to his co-conspirators with guidance regarding what persons, companies, and technologies to target during their computer intrusions. One of Su's co-conspirators gained access to information located on computers of U.S. companies, and he emailed Su directory file listings and folders showing the data that the co-conspirator had been able to access. Su then directed his co-conspirator as to which files and folders his co-conspirator should steal.

After that, Su would contact the Second Department, General Staff Headquarters, Chinese People's Liberation Army with translated documents and communicated their value. At this point, his intent was to sell the information for financial gain.

These are the faces of those who prey on the innocent

Department of Justice

Government backed Chinese hackers steal the identities of 78 million Americans

On May 9, 2019, an indictment was issued for several Chinese nationals who engaged in an extremely sophisticated hacking group operating from China. The illicit band of thieves targeted businesses in the United States, including a computer intrusion and data breach of Anthem Inc., a health insurance provider.

This is the most recent attack by the Chinese government against the United States. The Chinese are relentless in their disregard for the law and have shown no indication of slowing down.

"The allegations in the indictment unsealed today outline the activities of a brazen China-based computer hacking group that committed one of the worst data breaches in history.These defendants allegedly attacked U.S. businesses operating in four distinct industry sectors, and violated the privacy of over 78 million people by stealing their PII (Personal Identifiable Information)." - Assistant Attorney General Benczkowski.

The hackers used a technique called "spearfishing" where they attached links to e-mails sent to potential victims. When the links are clicked they download a type of file known as a backdoor which they can use to infiltrate the computer. Once they successfully tapped into vulnerable computers they watched the network identifying potential targets. They waited for months before striking.

...they collected the relevant files and other information from the compromised computers using software tools. The defendants then allegedly stole the data of interest by placing it into encrypted archive files and then sending it through multiple computers to destinations in China. The indictment alleges that on multiple occasions in January 2015, the defendants accessed the computer network of Anthem, accessed Anthem's enterprise data warehouse, and transferred encrypted archive files containing PII from Anthem's enterprise data warehouse from the United States to China. - Department of Justice

That same PII can be used to take out credit cards or loans in the name of the victims. This kind of identity theft is the most destructive, malicious, and the hardest to recover from. Attacks on innocent civilians such as this proves that the People's Republic of China has nothing but contempt for Americans. If the Chinese continue to show apathetic targeting of our civilians during peacetime, what are they capable of doing to civilians in wartime?

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