Leaked documents posted online last week show how the Chinese government works with private hackers to obtain sensitive information from foreign governments and companies.
The hackers worked for a security company called I-Soon, part of a network of spies for hire closely aligned with Beijing.
The leak revealed that China's top watchdog, the Ministry of Public Security, is increasingly hiring contractors to attack government targets and private companies as part of its cyber espionage operations in Asia. The leak is likely to stoke fears among leaders in Washington, who have warned against such attacks in the United States.
What information was revealed?
I-Soon targeted telecommunications companies, online gambling companies, and local governments across Asia. The hacker was able to obtain personal information such as:
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Records and traveler identity information from Vietnamese airlines.
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Personal information from your accounts on platforms such as Telegram and Facebook.
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Access to the private website of the Vietnam Traffic Police.
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Software that helps run disinformation campaigns and hack accounts on X.
The leak also includes internal discussions at I-Soon, reflecting the company's efforts to market its services to harsh workplaces and governments. I-Soon is one of hundreds of private companies that support China's hacking efforts through spying services and selling stolen data.
How was the information sold?
Private security contractor I-Soon paid the Chinese government $15,000 for access to the private website of Vietnam's traffic police and $278,000 for access to personal information from social media sites. I requested it. China has a long history of suppressing public dissent through surveillance.
The leak was published on GitHub, a software platform where programmers share code. Sensitive information, including source code from X, has been leaked on forums before.
Cybersecurity experts interviewed by The New York Times said the documents appeared to be authentic. It is not clear who leaked the information or what their motive was.
What does this mean for the United States?
The leaked material does not involve any U.S. organization, but provides a rare look into how China's Ministry of State Security relies on private companies to carry out espionage operations.
U.S. officials have long accused China of leading the way in information leaks to U.S. companies and government agencies, and the warnings have intensified as tech companies rush to develop artificial intelligence. Increased scrutiny has led Silicon Valley venture capitalists to refrain from investing in Chinese startups.
In 2013, it was revealed that Chinese military units were involved in hacking multiple U.S. companies. In 2015, a data breach believed to have been carried out by Chinese hackers resulted in the acquisition of a trove of records from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management containing the personal information of millions of government employees.
In Munich last weekend, FBI Director Christopher Wray said hacking operations from China were directed at the United States on a “scale never seen before,” making the country a major threat to U.S. national security. listed as one of the
What impact will it have on China?
Despite the embarrassment caused by the leak of hacked documents, few experts expect China to stop hacking given the information it can provide.
“I don't think such activity will stop as a result, it will just lead to more efforts to prevent future leaks,” said Mareike Ohlberg, Indo-Pacific relations expert at the German Marshall Fund in the US. Ta.
David E. Sanger and keith bradshire Contributed to the report.