Justice Department Charges Chinese Nationals for Hacking

According to the US Department of Justice, the three Chinese defendants conspired to hack into computers of private corporate entities to steal sensitive documents.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Three Chinese nationals working for a China-based internet security firm were charged in a US federal court on Monday for hacking activities to gain advantages in commercial trade against the United States, the US Department of Justice said in a press release on Monday.

"Wu Yingzhuo, Dong Hao and Xia Lei, all of whom are Chinese nationals and residents of China, were indicted today by a grand jury for computer hacking, theft of trade secrets, conspiracy and identity theft directed at US and foreign employees and computers of three corporate victims in the financial, engineering and technology industries between 2011 and May 2017," the release said.

The Justice Department said the three defendants, who worked for Guangzhou Bo Yu Information Technology Company, conspired to hack into computers of private corporate entities to steal sensitive documents and communications data.

The three hackers stole trade secrets from one business between December 2015 and March 2016, the release added.

The hackers sent emails to employees of the targeted companies, which contained malicious attachments or links to malware, according to the release.