Codenamed hackers from secret Chinese military unit Unit 61398 charged in world-first move by US

Charged, but not in custody ... the alleged Chinese spies. The Obama Administration said it ‘will not tolerate’ hacking. Source: AFP

THE US has charged five members of a shadowy Chinese military unit for allegedly hacking US companies for trade secrets, infuriating Beijing which suspended cooperation on cyber issues.

Hacking has long been a major sticking point in relations between the world’s two largest economies, but Washington’s move marks a major escalation in the dispute.

UglyGorilla is alleged to belong to a crack force of Chinese cyber-spies known as Unit 61398, believed to be part of the country’s People’s Liberation Army. Picture: AP Source: AP

Last year, a report suggested this non-descript 12-storey building on the outskirts of Shanghai houses Unit 61398 of China’s PLA. Picture: AP Source: NewsComAu

In the first-ever prosecution of state actors over cyber-espionage, a federal grand jury overnight indicted the five on charges they broke into US computers to benefit Chinese state-owned companies, leading to job losses in the United States in steel, solar and other industries.
Attorney General Eric Holder called on China to hand over the five men for trial in the steel city of Pittsburgh and said the United States would use “all the means that are available to us” should Beijing refuse.

Each of the cyber-spies was codenamed. Picture: AP Source: AP

hzy—lhx is wanted by the FBI. Picture: AP Source: AP

President Barack Obama’s administration “will not tolerate actions by any nation that seek to illegally sabotage American companies and undermine the integrity of fair competition,” Holder told reporters.
“This case should serve as a wake-up call to the seriousness of the ongoing cyber threat,” Holder told reporters.
The grand jury indicted each of the five — Wang Dong, Sun Kailiang, Wen Xinyu, Huang Zhenyu and Gu Chunhui — on 31 counts, which each carry penalties of up to 15 years in prison.

‘Any means available’ ... Attorney General Eric Holder has warned China over the hackers. Source: AP

Prosecutors said that the five officers belonged to Unit 61398 of the People’s Liberation Army.
A report last year by security firm Mandiant said that the unit had thousands of workers operating out of a nondescript, 12-story building on the outskirts of Shanghai where they pilfer intellectual property and government secrets.
China swiftly responded, calling the US indictment “ungrounded and absurd” and saying it “grossly violates the basic norms governing international relations and jeopardises China-US cooperation and mutual trust.”