Tag: hackers

Fighting against Chinese cyber-espionage, FBI hunts down members of Chinese hacking networks

When Chinese national Xu Zewei stepped off a plane at Milan’s Malpensa airport for a vacation with his wife, Italian authorities arrested him. The Italians executed an American warrant issued by investigators for his alleged role in the most prolific Beijing-backed cyber-espionage campaign in recent years.

Before Xu’s July 3 arrest, the Justice Department often charged alleged Chinese hackers in absentia. But now, the Trump administration has detained for the first time one of Beijing’s suspected cyber operators as part of its wider effort to combat Chinese espionage against the United States.

The Justice Department announced Xu’s arrest earlier this week and outlined the charges against him as part of a nine-count indictment along with one codefendant. The pair are accused of involvement in computer intrusions that compromised personal data, intellectual property, COVID-19 research at U.S. universities, and law firm materials, the Justice Department said. 

The arrest of Xu Zewei in Italy marks one of the first recorded cases of the FBI apprehending a suspected Chinese hacker. The FBI’s Houston Field Office, which led the case, said in a social media post shortly after the announcement that Xu Zewei was “one of the first hackers linked to Chinese intelligence services to be captured by the FBI.” 

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US Charges Chinese Man Accused of Hacking Into Universities to Steal COVID-19 Research

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced charges on July 8 against a Chinese national taken into custody in Italy at the behest of Washington, and accused him of hacking into several U.S. universities to steal COVID-19 research at the direction of China’s main intelligence agency.

Xu Zewei, 33, was arrested in Milan, Italy, on July 3 by Italian law enforcement officials and FBI agents as he departed a plane from China. Xu and another Chinese national, Zhang Yu, 44, who remains at large, are charged in a nine-count indictment unsealed in the Southern District of Texas on Tuesday for their alleged involvement in computer intrusions between February 2020 and June 2021.

According to the indictment, Xu was a general manager at a Chinese company called Shanghai Powerock Network, which allegedly conducted hacking operations at the direction of the Shanghai State Security Bureau (SSSB) under China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS).

The DOJ said that Xu’s case exemplifies the Chinese regime’s use of a vast network of private companies and contractors in China to carry out hacking and information theft in a manner that concealed Beijing’s involvement.

“The indictment alleges that Xu was hacking and stealing crucial COVID-19 research at the behest of the Chinese government while that same government was simultaneously withholding information about the virus and its origins,” Nicholas Ganjei, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Texas, said in a statement.

“The Southern District of Texas has been waiting years to bring Xu to justice and that day is nearly at hand. As this case shows, even if it takes years, we will track hackers down and make them answer for their crimes. The United States does not forget.”

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France detains Russian basketball star at request of US – AFP

Russian basketball player Daniil Kasatkin has been detained in France at the request of the US on suspicion of being a member of a hacker group, AFP reported on Wednesday evening.

Kasatkin, a point guard playing for Russia’s national team, was detained on June 21 at Charles de Gaulle Airport after arriving in France with his fiancée, AFP said.

At a hearing on Wednesday, a judge ruled to keep him in custody pending extradition.

The US alleges that Kasatkin, who had studied in the country, had negotiated ransom payments on behalf of a hacker gang that targeted around 900 companies and two federal institutions from 2020 to 2022.

The athlete denies any wrongdoing, his lawyer Frederic Belot told reporters, claiming that Kasatkin has “poor computer skills” and had bought a used computer that was “either hacked or a hacker sold it to him using another person’s name.”

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Chinese state-sponsored contract hacker arrested in Italy at US request: DOJ

The US Department of Justice said on July 8 a Chinese state-sponsored contract hacker was arrested last week in Italy at the request of Washington, but the arrested man claimed he is a victim of mistaken identity.

Xu Zewei, 33, was arrested on July 3, the Justice Department said, adding a nine-count indictment was unsealed on July 8 in the Southern District of Texas alleging the involvement of that individual and a co-defendant in computer intrusions between February 2020 and June 2021.

Xu was arrested in Milan, Italy, and will face extradition proceedings, the DOJ said in a statement.

It alleged China’s ministry of state security had directed theft of Covid-19 research and the exploitation of Microsoft email software vulnerabilities.

The Chinese government has denied allegations of being involved. The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Xu’s lawyer said on July 8 that he is a victim of mistaken identity, that his surname is quite common in China and that his mobile phone had been stolen in 2020.

The 33-year-old IT manager at a Shanghai company appeared on July 8 before an appeals court in Milan, which will decide whether to send him to the United States. The man was arrested last week after he arrived at Milan’s Malpensa airport for a holiday in Italy with his wife.

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‘Hacktivist’ steals data of 2.5M Columbia University students, employees and applicants in politically motivated cyberattack

A seasoned “hacktivist” reportedly stole sensitive data from more than two million Columbia University students, applicants and employees in a targeted cyberattack officials believe was politically motivated.

The sophisticated digital activist, who knocked the Ivy League’s systems offline for several hours on June 24, swiped social security numbers, citizenship status, university-issued ID numbers, application decisions, employee salaries, and other private records, Bloomberg News reported.

A university official told The Post the savvy hacker appeared to target specific documents to advance their political agenda.

“We immediately began an investigation with the assistance of leading cybersecurity experts and after substantial analysis determined that the outage was caused by an unauthorized party,” Columbia said in a statement Tuesday.

“We now have initial indications that the unauthorized actor also unlawfully stole data from a limited portion of our network. We are investigating the scope of the apparent theft and will share out findings with the University community as well as anyone whose personal information was compromised.”

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Iranian Hackers Say They Have 100GB Of Trump Emails

Hackers claiming ties to Iran say they possess 100GB of emails from President Donald Trump’s inner circle and may soon leak or sell the trove, after previously distributing a batch to the media before the 2024 U.S. election.

In online conversations with Reuters on Sunday and Monday, the hackers—who use the pseudonym “Robert”—claimed to possess about 100 gigabytes of emails from the accounts of “White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Trump lawyer Lindsey Halligan, Trump adviser Roger Stone and porn star-turned-Trump antagonist Stormy Daniels.”

Robert mentioned the potential of selling the material but did not provide further details about their plans or the content of the emails.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi described the breach as “an unconscionable cyber-attack.”

The White House and FBI responded with a statement from FBI Director Kash Patel, who said:

“Anyone associated with any kind of breach of national security will be fully investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) posted on X that “This so-called cyber ‘attack’ is nothing more than digital propaganda, and the targets are no coincidence. This is a calculated smear campaign meant to damage President Trump and discredit honorable public servants who serve our country with distinction”

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FBI Warns That Hacking Group is Expanding Cyberattacks to Target Airlines

The FBI has issued a warning that the hacker group Scattered Spider is expanding its cyberattacks to target airlines.

The alert was released on Friday, with federal officials emphasizing the group’s growing focus on the airline industry.

Scattered Spider is known for its use of social engineering tactics, often impersonating employees or contractors to trick IT help desks.

These tactics frequently include methods to bypass multi-factor authentication (MFA), such as persuading help desk personnel to add unauthorized MFA devices to compromised accounts.

The FBI stated the group targets large corporations and their third-party IT providers, putting the entire airline ecosystem—including vendors and contractors—at risk.

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FBI Compromised by Cartel Hacker Who Gained Control of Cameras, Multiple Left Dead in Fallout

Unidentified computer hackers associated with the Sinaloa drug cartel were able to garner phone records from the FBI, then used Mexico City surveillance cameras to compromise key informants and witnesses so they could murder them back in 2018, a new report showed.

This information was disclosed to the Justice Department in an Inspector General audit of the FBI’s efforts to “Mitigate the Effects of Ubiquitous Technical Surveillance,” according to Fox News.

The report cited the case against Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who used to lead the cartel, but who was extradited to the United States back in 2017. While federal authorities were working the case, they were alerted to the hiring of a hacker “who offered a menu of services related to exploiting mobile phones and other electronic devices.”

The hacker “had observed people going in and out of the United States Embassy in Mexico City and identified ‘people of interest’ for the cartel, including the FBI Assistant Legal Attache (ALA T), and then was able to use the ALA T’s mobile phone number to obtain calls made and received, as well as geolocation data, associated with the ALAT’s phone,” the audit read.

“According to the FBI, the hacker also used Mexico City’s camera system to follow the ALAT through the city and identify people the ALAT met with,” the report continued. “According to the case agent, the cartel used that information to intimidate and, in some instances, kill potential sources or cooperating witnesses.”

The audit also highlighted how modern technology has “made it easier than ever for less-sophisticated nations and criminal enterprises to identify and exploit vulnerabilities created by” data from everyday items like smartphones and personal computers.

Some within the U.S. intel community, including CIA officials, described the threat as being “existential.”

This should send a message to the U.S. that computers have become the new battlefield. And we are still vulnerable in this area.

Even if the federal government expanded funding and continued using all the technology at its disposal, drug cartels can still gain the upper hand.

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DHS Alerts US Public On Iran Retaliation Threat: Just Some ‘Low-Level’ Cyberattacks?

The latest Department of Homeland (DHS) alerts are telling the American public to expect some form of Iranian retaliation in response to this weekend’s major US bombing raids targeting three key Iranian nuclear energy and uranium enrichment sites.

And the Pentagon is preparing for potential attack on US bases in the Middle East, whether in Iraq or Syria where reduced troop presences still remain, or in the Gulf Arab countries – home to major naval and air bases.

But the latest DHS warnings speak of a not-so-new threat (which gets repeated just about every year) of stepped-up Iranian cyber threat activity.

A fresh terrorism advisory bulletin from DHS warns that Iran’s response could include violent actions on US soil as well as increased cyber operations.

The supposed heightened threat environment predicts likely low-level cyberattacks from pro-Iranian hacktivists, but also more serious threats from state-backed Iranian hackers:

“The ongoing Iran conflict is causing a heightened threat environment in the United States,” the DHS said. “Low-level cyber attacks against US networks by pro-Iranian hacktivists are likely, and cyber actors affiliated with the Iranian government may conduct attacks against US networks.”

But behind the headlines, the reality is that the fear-mongering from US officials will front-run the actual threats and ‘attacks’ – and likely grow louder, according to the all too familiar playbook of the Bush-Cheney era…

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Report: Hackers Breach Several Iranian TV Channels, Call on Citizens to Take to the Streets

Hackers continue to wreak havoc on the Iranian regime.

Clash Report posted video of an Iranian TV channel that was breached and is airing footage calling for the citizens to take to the streets.

Civilization is quickly breaking down in Iran since Israel started its military attacks on Friday night.

Food vendors are closed in many places, ATMs are without cash, the internet is down (except for Starlink!) and now the TV channels are hacked!

From the tweet above (translated):

“An hour ago, the regime’s infamous propaganda and lies agency, the regime’s infamous Iranian Broadcasting Corporation, was hacked.

After the regime’s normal programs were interrupted, a message was issued to the Iranian nation, calling on Iranians to rise up to overthrow the regime.”

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