Emily
Editor, Senior Moderator
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/courts/story/2021-07-19/sd-me-china-hack
Feds indict 4 from China in state-sponsored cyber attacks that went on for nearly a decade
The San Diego indictment comes as the Biden administration is stepping up scrutiny of cyber attacks backed by the Chinese government
By Greg Moran
July 19, 2021 4:58 PM PT
Federal prosecutors in San Diego announced on Monday the indictment of four Chinese men accused of a massive, years-long computer hacking campaign that targeted businesses, research institutions and universities in San Diego and abroad.
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The work was highly technical and the extent of the attacks so vast it took years to assemble enough evidence to file charges, he said. The extent of the damage, or what precisely the hackers got away with, was not revealed.
Grossman said that the case began in San Diego because some of the targets were located here, though he did identify any in particular. The indictment refers to the earliest targets as “University A” and “Research Facility A.” The research facility is described as having a campus in California and Florida involved in the development of virus treatments and vaccines, including research for a vaccine for the Ebola virus.
That would seem to indicate The Scripps Research Institute as a target. A spokesman for Scripps confirmed that late Monday night.
“The FBI notified Scripps Research of the indictment of several people related to a prior campaign to breach the institute’s computer systems,” Chris Emery, senor director of communications, said in an email. “Scripps Research has cooperated with the federal authorities in the investigation of the incident, which resulted in no loss of intellectual property.”
“University A” is described as a California university doing maritime and hydroacoustic research, a well as having a medical school, all of which could point to UC San Diego.
University spokesman Matt Nagle said in a statement Monday, “While UC San Diego did not suffer the loss of any intellectual property in this event, our cooperation in the investigation underscores our commitment to national security.”
The earliest instances occurred in September and November 2012, when a university and a research institute each were targeted and had malware installed on their systems, the indictment says. The attacks continued for another six years, and in 2018 Ding got an award from the Ministry of State Security saluting young leaders, at a time when the indictment said he was actively overseeing the the cyber attacks.
Feds indict 4 from China in state-sponsored cyber attacks that went on for nearly a decade
The San Diego indictment comes as the Biden administration is stepping up scrutiny of cyber attacks backed by the Chinese government
By Greg Moran
July 19, 2021 4:58 PM PT
Federal prosecutors in San Diego announced on Monday the indictment of four Chinese men accused of a massive, years-long computer hacking campaign that targeted businesses, research institutions and universities in San Diego and abroad.
....
The work was highly technical and the extent of the attacks so vast it took years to assemble enough evidence to file charges, he said. The extent of the damage, or what precisely the hackers got away with, was not revealed.
Grossman said that the case began in San Diego because some of the targets were located here, though he did identify any in particular. The indictment refers to the earliest targets as “University A” and “Research Facility A.” The research facility is described as having a campus in California and Florida involved in the development of virus treatments and vaccines, including research for a vaccine for the Ebola virus.
That would seem to indicate The Scripps Research Institute as a target. A spokesman for Scripps confirmed that late Monday night.
“The FBI notified Scripps Research of the indictment of several people related to a prior campaign to breach the institute’s computer systems,” Chris Emery, senor director of communications, said in an email. “Scripps Research has cooperated with the federal authorities in the investigation of the incident, which resulted in no loss of intellectual property.”
“University A” is described as a California university doing maritime and hydroacoustic research, a well as having a medical school, all of which could point to UC San Diego.
University spokesman Matt Nagle said in a statement Monday, “While UC San Diego did not suffer the loss of any intellectual property in this event, our cooperation in the investigation underscores our commitment to national security.”
The earliest instances occurred in September and November 2012, when a university and a research institute each were targeted and had malware installed on their systems, the indictment says. The attacks continued for another six years, and in 2018 Ding got an award from the Ministry of State Security saluting young leaders, at a time when the indictment said he was actively overseeing the the cyber attacks.