China Spy Agency Blamed by US, Others of Using Contract Hackers

The United States and other countries are accusing China’s Ministry of State Security of using criminal contract hackers to conduct unsanctioned cyber operations globally, from which the hackers personally profit.

The activities include ransomware operations against private companies that are forced to pay millions in ransom demands to regain access to their data, according to U.S. officials. “The United States and countries around the world are holding the People’s Republic of China (PRC) accountable for its pattern of irresponsible, disruptive, and destabilizing behavior in cyberspace, which poses a major threat to our economic and national security, said a statement from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The United States, along with NATO, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, on Monday specifically blamed China for the cyberattack in March that affected tens of thousands of organizations via Microsoft Exchange servers.