World

Chinese hackers stole millions worth of U.S. COVID relief money, Secret Service says

December 6, 2022 12:40 pm

[Source: Reuters]

Chinese hackers have stolen tens of millions of dollars worth of U.S. COVID relief benefits since 2020, the Secret Service said on Monday.

The Secret Service declined to provide any additional details but confirmed a report by NBC News that said the Chinese hacking team that is reportedly responsible is known within the security research community as APT41 or Winnti.

APT41 is a prolific cybercriminal group that had conducted a mix of government-backed cyber intrusions and financially motivated data breaches, according to experts.

Article continues after advertisement

Several members of the hacking group were indicted in 2019 and 2020 by the U.S.

Justice Department for spying on over 100 companies, including software development companies, telecommunications providers, social media firms, and video game developers.