US Department of Justice clarifies scope of Chinese cyber campaign

The US Department of Justice has issued a corrected statement regarding a cyber espionage campaign attributed to the Chinese state-sponsored hacking group known as QTFY. While an earlier report suggested several federal agencies were victims of the campaign, the revised statement clarifies that while the US Senate, the Federal Reserve, and NASA were targets, they were not all successfully breached.

According to an FBI affidavit, the hacking campaign has targeted US federal networks since at least 2018. Confirmed successful intrusions include those at three Department of Energy national laboratories, the National Institutes of Health, an agency affiliated with the Department of Health and Human Services, and a US security equipment manufacturer. An attempted intrusion into NASA was unsuccessful due to a software update that blocked the attack.

A joint cybersecurity advisory from the FBI, NSA, and US Cyber Command also noted that the group stole data from defense contractors, financial institutions, and universities in May 2024.