U.S. Confirms Arrest of Chinese Hacker Linked to COVID Research Theft
The U.S. Department of Justice has confirmed the arrest of Chinese national Xu Yuwei in Italy at the request of American prosecutors, according to TechCrunch.
According to the indictment, Xu and a fugitive Chinese national, Zhang Yu, were involved in stealing critical COVID-19 research from American universities in February 2020. Xu was reportedly employed by a company called "Shanghai Powerk Network," which allegedly conducted hacking operations on behalf of the Chinese government.
The pair have also been accused of participating in the March 2021 Microsoft Exchange Server breach, during which over 60,000 servers were compromised, resulting in the theft of emails and addresses from small businesses.
The hacking group, originally known as “Hafnium,” later launched a new wave of cyberattacks under the name “Silk Typhoon,” targeting large corporations and government agencies.
