behalf of China's Ministry of State Security.[1] The breach exposed personal information and travel details of up to 500 million people.[2] Earlier this year, DOJ charged four individuals associated with the Chinese People's Liberation Army for hacking Equifax in 2017.[3] As detailed in the Subcommittee's March 2019 report, the Equifax breach resulted in the release of personal identifying information of over 145 million Americans;[4] FBI Deputy Director Bowdich described it as "the largest theft of sensitive [personally identifying information] by state-sponsored hackers ever recorded."[5]
Pursuant to China's efforts to modernize its military and diminish the U.S. military's technological advantage, state-sponsored hackers have also engaged in a comprehensive campaign to steal information about U.S. advanced weapons technology.[6] For example, in 2012, a cyberattack on NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory was traced back to a Chinese IP address; during the incident the hackers "had full functional control over [the Laboratory's] networks."[7] Two years later, Chinese government-affiliated hackers stole military secrets, including the designs for Boeing's C-17 Globemaster and Lockheed Martin's F-35 and F22 stealth fighters.[8] More recently, Chinese state-sponsored hackers breached the computer network of a U.S. Navy defense contractor, stealing massive amounts of highly sensitive data, including secret plans for the development of a supersonic anti-ship submarine missile.[9]
- ↑ Ellen Nakashima, U.S. Investigators Point to China in Marriot Hack Affecting 500 Million Guests, Wash. Post (Dec. 11, 2018).
- ↑ Id.
- ↑ Criminal Indictment, United States v. Zhiyong et al., No. 2:20-CR046 (N.D. Ga. Jan. 28, 2020). See also Devlin Barrett & Matt Zapotosky, U.S. Charges Four Chinese Military Members in Connection With 2017 Equifax Hack, Wash. Post (Feb. 11, 2020).
- ↑ S. Permanent Subcomm. on Investigations, How Equifax Neglected Cybersecurity and Suffered a Devastating Data Breach, 116 Cong. 1 (Mar. 6, 2019).
- ↑ Eric Geller, U.S. Charges Chinese Military Hackers with Massive Equifax Breach, Politico (Feb. 10, 2020).
- ↑ See Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community Statement for the Record to the S. Select Comm. on Intelligence 6 (Feb. 13, 2018) (statement of Daniel R. Coats, Dir. of Nat'l Intelligence). See also China's Non-Traditional Espionage against the United States: The Threat and Potential Policy Responses: Hearing Before the S. Comm. on the Judiciary, 115 Cong. 3 (2018) (statement of Peter Harrell, Adjunct Senior Fellow, Center for a New Am. Sec.).
- ↑ Investigating the Chinese Threat, Part I: Military and Econ. Aggression: Hearing before the H. Comm. on Foreign Affairs, 112 Cong. 36 (2012) (statement of John J. Tkacik, Jr., Senior Fellow, Int'l Assessment & Strategy Center).
- ↑ Wendell Minnick, Chinese Businessman Pleads Guilty of Spying on F-35 and F-22, Defense News (Mar. 24, 2016), https://www.defensenews.com/breaking-news/2016/03/24/chinese-businessman-pleads-guilty-of-spying-on-f-35-and-f-22/.
- ↑ Ellen Nakashima & Paul Sonne, China Hacks Navy Contractor and Secured a Trove of Highly Sensitive Data on Submarine Warfare, Wash. Post (June 8, 2018).
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