Biden Accuses Chinese State Actors of Ransomware, Cryptojacking Attacks

"Hackers with a history of working for the PRC Ministry of State Security (MSS) have engaged in ransomware attacks, cyber enabled extortion, crypto-jacking, and rank theft from victims around the world, all for financial gain," a White House press release said.

AccessTimeIconJul 19, 2021 at 1:11 p.m. UTC
Updated Aug 21, 2021 at 6:45 p.m. UTC

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The U.S. president is accusing the Chinese government of supporting cyberattacks, including ransomware, cryptojacking, digital extortion and theft.

The allegations were announced Monday as part of a broader statement claiming China's Ministry of State Security (MSS) also had a hand in a massive Microsoft Exchange email hack earlier this year that compromised some 30,000 organizations using the service.

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  • The federal government is also charging four individuals it claims work for the MSS with espionage and computer damage crimes.

    "Hackers with a history of working for the PRC Ministry of State Security (MSS) have engaged in ransomware attacks, cyber enabled extortion, crypto-jacking, and rank theft from victims around the world, all for financial gain," a White House press release said.

    Cyberattacks have been on the rise, with ransomware attacks in particular making headlines this year after impacting critical infrastructure. The U.S. government has already announced a new initiative to tackle these sorts of digital crimes, including finding ways of preventing or tracking crypto payments during these attacks.

    It also reportedly plans to launch a ransomware task force.

    The U.S. government highlighted these efforts in a press call on Sunday.

    "We have our four-part counter-ransomware strategy – which you all know – from resilience, to focusing on cryptocurrencies, to working with countries around the world to build a coalition to hold Russia and other countries accountable, to really focusing on disrupting actor’s infrastructure, and funding payments," said an administration official speaking on background.

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