The United States has disrupted a Chinese-backed hacking operation responsible for breaching several sensitive government areas. The FBI and Justice Department seized domains associated with a botnet used to carry out the campaign.
The targeted government agencies included the U.S. Justice Department, NASA, the Federal Reserve, the Senate, the Department of Energy, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the National Institutes of Health.
Beyond government entities, the hackers targeted networks operated by hospitals, telecommunications providers, power companies, financial institutions, and defense contractors. The operation also compromised four unnamed companies located in the United States and South Korea.
As part of the disruption, the Justice Department seized domains used by two hacking platforms dubbed QScan and QTRouter.