Summary
Share on X X.com Share on Facebook Facebook Email Email The FBI is releasing this public service announcement to highlight that the Chinese government is using formal and informal connections with freelance hackers and information security (InfoSec) companies to compromise computer networks worldwide. China's InfoSec ecosystem flourishes because China's government agencies, including its primary intelligence service the Ministry of State Security (MSS) and its domestic police agency the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), weaponize InfoSec companies by tasking companies that advertise legitimate cybersecurity services to also use their expertise to gain unauthorized access to victim networks to collect for China's intelligence services. This ecosystem of InfoSec companies and freelance hackers enables and encourages indiscriminate global cyber activity, while providing the Chinese government with a layer of plausible deniability. Today, the Southern District of New York unsealed an indictment against eight employees of China-based InfoSec company Anxun Information Technology Co., Ltd., aka i-Soon, and two MPS officers who, at times, directed i-Soon activities in service of the Chinese government. i-Soon has been a key player in China's InfoSec ecosystem over the last decade, working with at least 43 separate MSS or MPS bureaus in 31 provinces and municipalities across China.