Washington, USA, December 8, 2008 (ANI): At least USD 20,000,000 in US Covid relief benefits was stolen by hackers from China, including unemployment Insurance funds, and Small Business Administration loans. NBC News reported the theft, citing the Secret Service of the country.
Hackers are linked to the Chinese government and come from a Chengdu-based organization called APT41. According to the report, other federal investigations into pandemic fraud seem to have pointed back to foreign-affiliated hackers. Roy Dotson (National Pandemic Fraud Recovery Coordinator for the Secret Service), stated that it would be absurd to believe this group didn’t target all 50 US states.
The US Secret Service refused to confirm the scope and nature of any other investigations.
They stated that there are more than 1,000 investigations underway into transnational and domestic criminal acts defrauding public benefit programs. APT41 According to NBC News, he is “a noteworthy player.”
The US has seen a rise of espionage cases from China in recent months. In three separate cases, 13 people were charged by the US government, including members of China’s intelligence and security apparatus, and their agents for illegally exerting influence in the United States in order to benefit their government. These cases show that the Chinese government sought to interfere in the rights and freedoms enjoyed by individuals in the United States, and to undermine the judicial system that safeguards those rights. “They failed,” stated U.S. Attorney general Merrick B. Garland in a Justice Department press release. “The Justice Department will not accept any attempt by any foreign power, to undermine the Rule of Law on which our democracy is built. We will protect every citizen’s rights. We will continue to fiercely protect the rights guaranteed to everyone in our country. (ANI)