The indictments help to solve a mystery for the cybersecurity researchers tracking the group. Over more than half a decade, it has carried out a series of shocking supply chain attacks, hijacking the updates to Asus laptops and the CCleaner antivirus software, for instance, to silently plant malicious code on millions of computers. But it has also long appeared to have different subgroups, sometimes believed to be Ministry of State Security hackers moonlighting as cybercriminals targeting video game firms. Now it appears instead that, rather than moonlighting, one element of Barium was in fact a contracted organization, including hackers with a long cybercriminal past.
The company the alleged hackers worked for, Chengdu 404, advertises itself as a cybersecurity firm offering white hat hacking and penetration testing, and publicly boasts of customers among Chinese security agencies and the military. But the indictment includes communications in which the company's vice president of its technical department, Jiang Lizhi, allegedly refers to his past as a cybercriminal and brags that his connections to China's Ministry of State Security protect him from domestic law enforcement. Sherwin noted repeatedly Wednesday that the group's targeting of pro-democracy groups indicates it had at times had motivation other than criminal gains.
"These for-profit criminal activities took place with the tacit approval of the government of the People’s Republic of China," said FBI special agent in charge James Dawson at Wednesday's press conference. "This investigation is another example of the blended threat increasingly seen in cyber investigations."
The Ministry of State Security likely began enlisting groups like Chengdu 404 after the landmark "Xi Agreement," when the Chinese and US governments pledged in 2014 to cease any hacking that ta ..
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