By: Becker News
Foreign hackers linked to the Chinese government allegedly stole at least $20 million in COVID-19 relief funds, according to the U.S. Secret Service.
The China-linked hackers, known as APT41, are “a notable player” among the 1,000-plus investigations into criminals defrauding public benefits programs, according to an NBC News report confirmed by the Secret Service to the Daily Caller News Foundation. It is unknown whether the Chinese government directed APT41 to steal taxpayer funds or simply looked the other way, but the threat is “dangerous” and has serious national security implications, an anonymous senior Department of Justice (DOJ) official told NBC News.
“I’ve never seen them target government money before,” John Hultquist, head of intelligence analysis at the cybersecurity firm Mandiant, told NBC News. “That would be an escalation.”
The discovery of the hackers could be just the beginning, as unnamed officials and experts think it is likely that the hackers targeted all 50 states, according to NBC News. The experts and officials noted that other reported instances of COVID-19 fraud point back to foreign state-affiliated hackers.
“It would be crazy to think this group didn’t target all 50 states,” Roy Dotson, national pandemic fraud recovery coordinator for the U.S. Secret Service, told NBC News. The report marks the first time the U.S. government has publicly acknowledged state-sponsored cybercriminals stole pandemic relief.
https://beckernews.com/china-linked-hackers-stole-millions-of-taxpayer-dollars-through-bidens-covid-relief-fund-48043/