FBI ARRESTS CHINESE CYBER HACKER

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
A Chinese national thirty three years of age, has been
taken into CUSSY for his alleged involvement in US computer intrusions.
Between February twenty twenty and June twenty twenty one, Chinese
Ministry of State Security allegedly directed the theft of COVID
nineteen Research and confidential information authorities took Public People's Republic
of China national zeus Way into custody in Milan as

(00:23):
he departed playing from China at the requests of the US.
Zoo is charged with charge along with PRC national Zang Yu,
who is now unsealed in nine on account indictment returned
in November twenty twenty three. They were both involved in
computer intrusions. The charges alleged MSS, which is Ministry of
State Security, and Shanghai State Security Bureau, which are PRC

(00:46):
intelligence services responsible for prtc's domestic counter intelligence and aspects
of the PRC's political and domestic security. When conducting the
computer intrusions, Zoo worked for Shanghai Power Rock Network, one
of many enabling companies in the PRC that conducted hacking
for the PRC government. The indictment alleges at Zoo was

(01:06):
hacking and stealing crucial COVID nineteen research at the behests
of the Chinese government, while the same government was simultaneously
with holding information about the virus and its origins. The
arrests underscores in the United States commitment to pursuing hackers.
As the Assistant Attorney General, according to CORE documents, in
early twenty twenties, U and his co conspirators hacked and

(01:28):
otherwise targeted US based universities and leading immunologists and virologists,
and conducting groundbreaking research into COVID nineteen vaccines, treatment, and testing.
The charges alleged Zu and others reported their activities to
officers in the Triple SB who were supervising and directing
the hacking activities. For example, in February nine, twenty twenties,
you allegedly provided an SSB officer with confirmation they had

(01:50):
compromised the network of a research university located in Southern
District of Texas. The officer directed you to target access
specific email accounts belonging to virologists and theologists engage in
COVID nineteen research. Beginning in late twenty twenty, Zu and
his co conspirators exploited certain vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Server
and widely used Microsoft product for sending, receiving, and storing

(02:12):
email messages. Their exploitation of it was allegedly at the
forefront of a massive campaign targeting thousands of computers worldwide,
known publicly as Halfnium. In March twenty twenty one, Microsoft
publicly disclosed the intrusion campaign by state sponsored hackers operating
out of China. The United States and foreign partners attributed
the halfnium campaign to the PRC, which they in private

(02:34):
sector cybersecurity leaders condemned as indiscriminate and reckless. The charges
alleged victims of Zoo's exploitation of the server where a
university located in Southern District of Texas in a law
firm with offices worldwide, including in Washington, d C. After
exploiting computers running the Microsoft Exchange Server, Zoo and his

(02:55):
co conspirators allegedly installed webshells on them to enable their
remote administration. These webs were specific to half of them
actors at the time, as with the earlier COVID nineteen
research intrusions, an example again in January of twenty twenty one,
Zoo confirmed his zaying that he had compromised the university's network.
According to the charges, an officer then directors due to

(03:16):
obtain a list of other successful intrusions. The charges alleged
unauthorized access to the law firms network, which allowed Zoo
and co conspirats to steal information from mailboxes. So it
was a big operation and you can read all about
it the Justice dout gov website. But credible