US charges two Chinese nationals with hacking trade secrets and personal data of ‘over 100,000 Navy members’

The hackings 'present a very real threat to the economic competitiveness of companies in the United States and around the globe'

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announces the Department of Justice is charging two Chinese citizens (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)

The United States has charged two Chinese nationals for allegedly participating in a global hacking campaign to steal technology secrets, intellectual property, and the personal data of over 100,000 Navy members, according to the Department of Justice.

Zhu Hua and Zhang Shilong are accused of a conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and computer intrusions. The crimes, the Justice Department alleges, were part of campaigns lasting years that targetted dozens of companies as well as several foreign governments.

Neither man has been apprehended, and the US claims the two men worked in coordination with the Chinese Ministry of State Security to commit the crimes.

“China will find it difficult to pretend that it is not responsible for this action”, deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein said during a press conference.

The hacking was carried out by a group known as “Advanced Persistent Threat 10”, with the two men accused of trying to steal information from as many as 45 American technology companies and government agencies.

The Department of Justice indictment filed on Thursday says that the thefts began in 2006, and that another campaign to steal intellectual property and data from technology companies started in 2014.

The 2014 campaign, which targeted remote-access client-management companies, resulted in intrusions of computers in at least 12 companies, according to the court filing.

“China’s goal, simply put, is to replace the US as the world’s largest global superpower”, FBI Director Christopher Wray said.

US and UK authorities also condemned China for violating 2015 agreements to curb cyberespionage for business purposes.

Secretary of state Mike Pompeo and Kristjen Nielsen said in a joint statement that the hacks “present a very real threat to the economic competitiveness of companies in the United States and around the globe”.

“We strongly urge China to abide by its commitment to act responsibly in cyberspace and reiterate that the United States will take appropriate measures to defend our interests,” the statement says.

The court filing named the Department of Energy’s National Laboratory and Nasa’s jet propulsion lab as two of the many targets of the group. Most companies were not named in court filings.

The hacking group also allegedly hacked into 40 computers connected to the US Navy, and stole confidential data including “the personally identifiable information of more than 100,000 Navy personnel”, according to court filings.

The new charges mark the latest in a series of cases brought against Chinese alleged hackers. In October, the US government charged Chinese intelligence officers with conspiring with hackers and company insiders to break into private companies’ computer systems and steal information on a turbo fan engine used in commercial jetliners.

The same month, the Justice Department arrested an alleged spy for China’s Ministry of State Security on charges of economic espionage and attempting to steal US aviation trade secrets.