All news with #silk typhoon tag

🛡️ Xu Zewei, a 34-year-old accused of working for China's Ministry of State Security and linked to the state-backed hacking group Hafnium (also called Silk Typhoon), has been extradited from Italy to the United States and arrived in Houston. He pleaded not guilty at a federal hearing and is being held at the Federal Detention Center. U.S. prosecutors allege Xu targeted COVID-19 researchers in early 2020 and participated in the 2021 Microsoft Exchange zero-day campaign; if convicted on charges including wire fraud, conspiracy to damage protected computers, and aggravated identity theft, he faces decades in prison.

🔒 Xu Zewei, a 34-year-old Chinese national, has been extradited to the US and charged in connection with a series of intrusions between February 2020 and June 2021 allegedly tied to the Silk Typhoon campaign. US prosecutors allege Xu acted under direction of China's Ministry of State Security and used a private contractor, Shanghai Powerock Network Co. Ltd., to obscure government involvement. Authorities say early intrusions targeted US universities and COVID-19 researchers and later exploited Microsoft Exchange vulnerabilities; Xu faces counts including wire fraud, unauthorized access and identity theft, and his co-defendant remains at large.

🛡️ A Chinese national accused of ties to the Silk Typhoon group has been extradited to the United States from Italy to face charges alleging multiple cyber intrusions and theft of COVID‑19 vaccine research. U.S. prosecutors say 34-year-old Xu Zewei and co-defendant Zhang Yu carried out operations between February 2020 and June 2021 under direction of the MSS Shanghai State Security Bureau, exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Server to deploy web shells for remote access. Xu, arrested in Milan in July 2025 while on vacation with his wife, has pleaded not guilty and maintains he is a case of mistaken identity; Zhang remains at large.

🛡️ A Chinese national, identified as Xu Zewei, has been extradited from Italy to the United States to face charges accusing him of conducting cyberespionage on behalf of China's Ministry of State Security (MSS). Prosecutors allege Xu worked as a contracted hacker for the group known as Silk Typhoon (also called Hafnium), carrying out intrusions from February 2020 to June 2021. The indictment ties him to attacks on COVID-19 research organizations and widespread exploitation of Microsoft Exchange zero-day vulnerabilities in late 2020, during which web shells were deployed to access mailboxes, move laterally, and exfiltrate data. Xu is expected to appear in federal court on multiple counts related to computer intrusions and conspiracy.