Cyber Spy Caught: Hacker Working for Beijing Faces Trial in the US
The U.S. government just made a huge move in the ongoing digital war with China. A man named Xu Zeiwei has been extradited to the United States to face serious charges for carrying out cyberattacks on behalf of the Chinese government. Last year, the U.S. Department of Justice accused Xu of working as a contractor for the Chinese Ministry of State Security. If a court finds him guilty, he could spend over a decade in a federal prison.
Authorities arrested Xu in Italy last year after the U.S. requested help. His lawyer confirmed that he is now sitting in a detention center in Houston, Texas, after being handed over to U.S. officials. On Monday morning, Xu appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him. The court sent him back into custody as the legal process begins.
Stealing Secrets During a Crisis
Prosecutors say Xu and a partner named Zhang Yu targeted American universities in early 2020. Their goal was to steal research related to the COVID-19 pandemic during the height of the global crisis. But their alleged crimes did not stop there. The duo allegedly helped hack thousands of email servers running Microsoft Exchange starting in March 2021.
This campaign was part of a massive, reckless hacking effort linked to a Chinese group known as Hafnium, and later Silk Typhoon. While working for a company called Shanghai Powerock Network, Xu reportedly conducted hacking for Beijing. Investigators believe he and other hackers reported their progress directly to Chinese state officials in Shanghai.
A Massive Hit List
The Hafnium group allegedly exploited unknown security flaws in Microsoft software to break into several American organizations. Their targets included law firms, think tanks, defense contractors, and researchers studying infectious diseases. According to the government, these hackers targeted more than 60,000 entities in the U.S.. They successfully hacked over 12,700 of them.
China is not happy about this development. The Chinese Foreign Ministry spoke out against the extradition and accused the U.S. government of making up the case. For years, the U.S. has charged many Chinese hackers, but most of them stay out of reach in China. This case is different because the U.S. actually got its hands on the suspect.
This is not the first time a Chinese official or agent has faced a U.S. courtroom. Back in 2022, a Chinese intelligence officer named Yanjun Xu was sentenced to 20 years in prison for hacking crimes. At that time, it was the first time a Chinese government officer was brought to the U.S. to face justice. Now, with Xu Zeiwei in custody, the U.S. is sending a clear message that digital spies can be caught and punished. The trial in Houston will be a major moment in the fight against state-sponsored cybercrime.