US revises statements suggesting Chinese hackers attacked agencies

United States officials have corrected earlier statements that several government agencies were attacked by Chinese hackers, now saying instead that the organisations were only among the hackers’ targets.

In a newly edited statement on Friday, the US Department of Justice said that the Senate, the Federal Reserve, NASA and other agencies were “among the targets of QTFY”, a Chinese state-sponsored hacking group.

A previous version of the statement said the government agencies had been among the hackers’ victims.

A note at the bottom of the newly revised statement says: “Edits have been made to ensure this press release accurately reflects the government’s allegations in the affidavit in support of the domain seizures.”

The Justice Department said on Friday it made a correction to the news release because the August 26 release “described all agencies as victims whereas the government’s affidavit made clear that all were targeted but only some were compromised”.

The distinction matters because it narrows the scope of confirmed breaches.

The Justice Department has accused Chinese actors of a years-long cyber-espionage campaign against US government agencies, defence contractors and other sensitive targets.

According to an affidavit from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released alongside the original statement, the hackers have “targeted” US federal networks since at least 2018.