Chinese hackers stole millions of dollars from US Covid relief funds
Since 2020, Chinese hackers have stolen tens of millions of dollars in US Covid relief funds, according to the Secret Service. The Secret Service declined to provide additional details regarding Chinese hackers but confirmed an NBC News report that the Chinese hacking team responsible for stealing millions of dollars is also known in the security research community as APT41 or Winnti. According to experts, APT41 is a prolific cybercriminal group that has carried out a mix of government-backed cyber intrusions and financially motivated data breaches.
Several members of the hacking group were indicted in 2019 and 2020 by the US Justice Department for spying on over 100 companies, including software development companies, telecommunications providers, social media firms, and video game developers.
“Regrettably, the Chinese Communist Party has chosen a different path of making China safe for cybercriminals so long as they attack computers outside China and steal intellectual property helpful to China,” former Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen said at the time. The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Due to the sensitivity of the subject, the majority of the officials and experts spoke on the condition of anonymity. They claim that other federal investigations into pandemic fraud also appear to link foreign state-affiliated hackers. Roy Dotson, national pandemic fraud recovery coordinator for the Secret Service, who also serves as a liaison to other federal agencies looking into Covid fraud, said, “It would be crazy to think this group didn’t target all 50 states.” The Secret Service declined to confirm the scope of additional investigations, noting that APT41 is “a notable player” in more than 1,000 ongoing investigations involving domestic and foreign criminal actors defrauding public assistance programs.
The theft itself is a worrying development that raises the stakes, according to several current and former U.S. officials, regardless of whether the Chinese government ordered APT41 to steal money from American taxpayers or simply turned a blind eye. A senior Justice Department official described it as “dangerous” and claimed that it had significant implications for national security.
