Houston – The authorities announced on Tuesday that a Chinese citizen was arrested on suspicion of hacking many computer systems in American universities to steal research related to Covid-19.
Xu Zewei was charged with an indictment from nine workers in the southern region of Texas for his alleged involvement in computer interventions between February 2020 and June 2021. Another Chinese citizen, Zhang U, was charged with the indictment.
Shaw was arrested on Thursday in Italy and is awaiting the delivery of the American authorities that Zhang is still generally.
Shu and others are accused of targeting and hacking many universities, immune scientists in the United States and virus flags who conduct research in Covid-19 vaccines, treatment and testing, according to court documents.
Nicholas c. Janji, a Houston -based American lawyer in the southern province of Texas, at a press conference: “The penetration of these American universities is not just a violation of intellectual property rights. It is an attack on American scientific innovation.”
The authorities refused to nominate universities that were targeted, but said that two were present in the southern region of Texas.
The authorities claim that the Chinese Ministry of State officers, or MSS, directed Shu and others to conduct piracy.
A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington has not immediately responded to an email looking for a comment.
The authorities claim that Shu and Changa were part of a group known as a Hafnium, which targeted more than 60,000 American entities, which succeeded in reviving more than 12,700 to steal sensitive information. One of these targets was a law firm with offices around the world, including in Washington, DC
Xu feed fees include wire fraud, obtaining information by unauthorized access to high -end computers and strict identity stealing. Wire fraud fees carry up to 20 years in prison.
Tuesday’s announcement comes after The Ministry of Justice earlier this month Two Chinese citizens who were accused of spying inside the United States said on behalf of Beijing, including taking pictures of a naval base.