BEIJING (dpa-AFX) - The United States has imposed sanctions on a Chinese hacker and data broker who sold data from highly sensitive U.S. critical infrastructure networks.
The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Zhou Shuai and his Shanghai-based company, Shanghai Heiying Information Technology Company, Limited.
In collaboration with another Chinese hacker Yin Kecheng, Zhou Shuai illegally acquired, brokered, and sold data from highly sensitive U.S. critical infrastructure networks, according to the Treasury.
Separately, the Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs offered rewards of up to $2 million each for information leading to the arrests and/or convictions of Yin Kecheng and Zhou Shuai.
They were identified as having links with an advanced persistent threat group (APT27), who are also known to private sector security researchers as 'Threat Group 3390,' 'Bronze Union,' 'Emissary Panda,' 'Lucky Mouse,' 'Iron Tiger,' 'UTA0178,' 'UNC 5221,' and 'Silk Typhoon.' Yin and Zhou are longtime members of the eco-system China uses to perpetuate its cyber attacks. The State Department says they make big financial gains as hackers for hire for a number of Chinese companies.
Also on Wednesday, the Department of Justice announced that Yin was charged for cyber crimes committed during 2013-2015, while Yin and Zhou were charged together in a separate conspiracy related to computer network intrusion. They were indicted as a result of FBI investigation of APT27, which began in 2014.
Malicious cyber criminals, particularly those operating in China, continue to be one of the biggest and most persistent threats to U.S. national security.
'Today's action underscores our resolve to hold accountable malicious cyber actors like Zhou who continue to target U.S. government systems, the data of U.S. companies, and our citizens,' said Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith.
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