FBI tails hackers who hit Aussies

CHINESE governmentbacked hackers targeted an Australian solar company and a defence contractor, according to the FBI, which has issued warrants for the pair.

The two Chinese nationals have been indicted by the US Justice Department for a range of offences, including trying to steal COVID-19 vaccine research from other countries.

Their targets included “hundreds of victim companies, governments, non-governmental organisations, and individual dissidents, clergy, and democratic and human rights activists in the United States and abroad, including Hong Kong and China”, said the Justice Department.

Li Xiaoyu, 34, and Dong Jiazhi, 33, were “on call” for the Chinese government’s Ministry of State Security, said US Assistant Attorney-general John Demers.

The FBI issued wanted notices for the pair, believed to be in China.

They were described as electrical engineers who met at a university in Chengdu,

China, and operated their criminal enterprise for more than a decade.

The Australian companies targeted were not identified, apart from being named as Victim 21 and Victim 23.

Mr Demers said the 27-page federal grand jury indictment charged them with targeting a series of companies across the world.

“The hackers targeted technology companies in countries with high-technology industries, including in Australia, Belgium, Germany, Japan, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Spain, South Korea, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States,” he said.

“These intrusions are yet another example of China’s brazen willingness to engage in theft through computer intrusions contrary to their international commitments.”

The FBI said the hacks were attempted through malware, and Australia was targeted in January and April.

The hackers acted in some instances “for their own personal gain” and in others for the benefit of the Chinese government.