WASHINGTON — U.S. officials have revised a dramatic claim made earlier this week about a sweeping Chinese cyber-espionage campaign, now saying that federal agencies identified as victims of the operation were “targeted” rather than definitively “hacked.”
The walk-back follows a joint disclosure by the FBI, the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command’s Cyber National Mission Force, which had said the campaign compromised or attempted to compromise numerous agencies and institutions, including NASA, the Federal Reserve, the Departments of Justice and Energy, and the U.S. Senate.
According to officials and an accompanying advisory, the hacking effort dates back to 2018 and continued into this year, with hackers allegedly affiliated with the Chinese military and intelligence services using a Chinese technology company to help cover their tracks. Confirmed data theft was tied to defense contractors, financial institutions and universities as far back as May 2024. But the advisory also listed unsuccessful attempts to breach the networks of the U.S. Senate and a U.S. hospital in March of this year — intrusions that were attempted, not completed.
That distinction is now at the center of the dispute. “Hacked” implies a successful breach; “targeted” means an attempt was made, successful or not. Officials this week began using the more limited term for several of the highest-profile agencies named in the initial disclosure, prompting questions about how much of the original, more alarming characterization will hold up.
Critics have asked whether the shift amounts to a routine correction as facts came in, or a downplaying of the campaign’s scope after the initial claims made headlines. The agencies involved have not detailed which specific intrusions were confirmed successful and which were attempted but repelled.
Other alleged targets of the campaign, officials said, include U.S. military networks, hospitals, power companies and additional defense contractors, suggesting the operation’s reach — confirmed or attempted — was broad regardless of how any single claim is ultimately characterized.
The Justice Department has separately pursued criminal cases tied to Chinese state-linked hacking operations in recent years, including indictments against individuals accused of targeting U.S. networks. It was not immediately clear whether this week’s disclosure would lead to new charges.
VIRA Broadcasting Staff, with wire reports.