NASA, Fed, Senate among Chinese hackers’ targets, Justice Department says

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Wednesday that it disrupted a Chinese hacking operation that targeted its network and other sensitive U.S. agencies.

The DOJ said in a statement that it seized hacking platforms “QScan” and “QTRouter,” which were operated by a state-run group employed by Chinese-based firm, Nanjing Xinjiuwei Network Technology Co.

These platforms worked in tandem to “target U.S. critical infrastructure and other sensitive networks” for clients like the Ministry of State Security and the People’s Liberation Army, according to the DOJ release.

This hacking operation targeted the DOJ, NASA, the Federal Reserve, the Department of Energy, the U.S. Senate, the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health, according to a court affidavit unsealed in the Southern District of California.

Other reported targets included government contractors, hospital networks, telecommunications providers, power companies and financial institutions.

“State-sponsored malicious hackers preying on America’s critical infrastructure will be stopped and prosecuted,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement. “We are here to ensure security for the American people and will use every tool we have to keep that promise.”

The affidavit said the Chinese firm’s infrastructure has been used to “compromise critical infrastructure and other sensitive networks” in the U.S. and around the globe since 2018.

The Hill has reached out to the Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., for comment. The Chinese government routinely denies allegations of hacking U.S. networks.

In a separate hacking operation announced by the Treasury Department in 2024, the department charged 10 Chinese hackers-for-hire and two of the country’s officials in a scheme to steal data from American entities.

FBI Director Kash Patel thanked the joint work of the FBI and the bureau’s San Diego office and cyber division on the seizure operation in a Wednesday statement.

“Today’s action is just the latest technical operation against PRC-sponsored hacking – and in support of President Trump’s Cyber Strategy for America, the FBI is surging efforts to shape adversary behavior and defend the homeland in cyberspace,” Patel said.

The announcement comes ahead of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s scheduled visit to the U.S. next month, during which he will meet with President Trump.

When asked Wednesday on Fox News about whether this hacking scheme would come up between the two leaders, Blanche said he would not “tell President Trump what he needs to talk to the leadership about in China.”

“This is something that we’ve talked about with our counterparts in China for many, many years,” Blanche said. “And we know that it’s happening. And they know we know that it’s happening. And it has to stop.”