U.S. charges four Chinese military hackers in 2017 Equifax breach
The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States has charged four Chinese military hackers in the 2017 breach of the Equifax credit reporting agency that affected nearly 150 million American citizens, Attorney General William Barr said on Monday.
“This was a deliberate and sweeping intrusion into the private information of the American people,” Barr said in announcing the indictments of four members of the Chinese Liberation Army in connection with one of the largest data breaches in U.S. history.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The announcement is the latest in an aggressive campaign by American authorities to root out Chinese espionage operations in the United States. Since turning the spotlight on China in 2018, the U.S. has snared a growing group of Chinese government officials, business people, and academics pursuing American secrets.
Roughly 147 million people had information, including Social Security numbers, birth dates and driver’s license data, compromised by the Equifax breach.
The hackers spent weeks in the Equifax system, breaking into computer networks, stealing company secrets and personal data. The hackers routed traffic through approximately 34 servers located in nearly 20 countries to obfuscate their true location.
