The United States government has suddenly corrected its statements\nregarding cyberattacks allegedly carried out by Chinese hackers. Several\nUS government agencies previously identified as \u201cvictims\u201d of the hacking\nhave now been reclassified as merely \u201ctargets\u201d of the hacking group.<\/p>\n
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday (28\/8) amended its\nprevious statement concerning the hacking group QTFY, which is suspected\nof being sponsored by the Chinese government. In the statement, the DOJ\nnoted that the US Senate, the Federal Reserve, NASA, and several other\nagencies were among the targets of QTFY. The group was identified by US\nofficials on Wednesday during an internet domain seizure operation.<\/p>\n
The DOJ\u2019s initial statement had referred to these government agencies\nas victims of attacks by the Chinese hacking group. The DOJ subsequently\nadded a note to the updated statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cA change has been made to ensure this press release accurately\nreflects the government\u2019s allegations in the written statement\nsupporting the domain seizure,\u201d the DOJ wrote, as reported by Reuters on\nMonday (31\/8\/2026).<\/p>\n
The DOJ also explained the reason for the change. The Department\nstated that the release on 26 August depicted all agencies as victims,\nwhereas the government\u2019s written statement explains that while all were\ntargeted, only some were successfully compromised.<\/p>\n
This distinction in terminology is significant. The correction\nnarrows the scope of hacking confirmed by the US government in a Chinese\ncyber-espionage campaign that has reportedly been ongoing for years. The\ncampaign is said to target US government networks, defence contractors,\nand other sensitive targets.<\/p>\n
According to a written statement from the FBI released alongside the\nUS government\u2019s initial announcement, the hacking group has been\ntargeting US federal networks since at least 2018. These include the\nnetworks of NASA, the Federal Reserve, the Department of Energy, the\nDepartment of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services\n(HHS), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the US Senate.\nHowever, not all attempts were successful.<\/p>\n
A footnote in the FBI\u2019s written statement mentioned that the agency\nhad investigated hacking attempts against NASA. The results showed that\nthe attacks failed because NASA had patched the targeted software.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, the FBI accused the hackers of successfully\ninfiltrating computers in September 2024 at three national laboratories\nunder the US Department of Energy, the NIH, one HHS agency, and a US\nsecurity equipment manufacturer. The FBI identified these entities as\nvictims.<\/p>\n
The US government also released a joint cybersecurity advisory\npublished by the FBI, the National Security Agency (NSA), and the U.S.\nCyber Command\u2019s Cyber National Mission Force on Wednesday. The document\nnoted successful data theft from several unnamed defence contractors,\nfinancial institutions, and universities in May 2024.<\/p>\n
At the same time, the hacking group was also recorded making failed\nattempts to access the US Senate network and a US hospital in March\n2026.<\/p>\n
Reuters noted that the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure\nSecurity Agency (CISA) did not immediately respond to requests for\nclarification regarding the change in statement.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/united-states-admits-error-in-claiming-extensive-chinese-cyberattack-victims-facts-differ-1788400446", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }