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China’s cyber war is reaching a new level. The US Department of Justice has officially announced the exposure of a large-scale hacker ecosystem organised by Beijing for cyberattacks around the world, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reports.
According to US law enforcement officials, China has created a powerful system of hired hackers – government employees, contractors and employees of technology companies – who systematically attack governments, private companies and critical infrastructure on all continents.
A group of 12 Chinese citizens, including two senior officials of the Ministry of Public Security, employees of Anxun Information Technology Co Ltd (i-Soon ) and members of the APT27 hacker organisation, which is linked to Chinese intelligence services, are at the centre of the scandal. The indictments were filed in federal courts in New York and Washington.
This network was responsible for attacks on a number of strategic institutions, including the US Treasury Department, which became a victim of a data breach in 2024. According to a representative of the US Department of Justice:
“China’s intelligence services are using an unlimited network of hired hackers to suppress free speech and steal data from hundreds of organisations around the world.”
Interestingly, according to the published materials, i-Soon hackers were responsible for the most high-profile attacks in recent years, including those on US government servers and financial systems.
Although the hacking of the US Treasury Department is not yet included in the list of official charges, US investigators continue to work on the evidence base. At the same time, the US Department of Justice has already taken steps to seize the Internet domains and servers used by the hacker network.
This situation has exacerbated the already tense relations between the United States and China. Washington accuses Beijing of waging a hybrid war in cyberspace aimed at undermining the security of critical infrastructure and stealing state secrets.
It is clear that the fight against cybercrime is moving to a new level, and the consequences of such a conflict could affect the stability of digital security around the world.
