TECHNOLOGY

China pursuing 3 alleged US operatives over cyberattacks during Asian Games

Apr 15, 2025, 12:32 AM

China and U.S. national flags are seen on display on an entrance door of a souvenir shop in Beijing...

China and U.S. national flags are seen on display on an entrance door of a souvenir shop in Beijing on April 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

(AP Photo/Andy Wong)

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China said Tuesday it was pursuing three alleged U.S. operatives accused of carrying out cyberattacks on Chinese infrastructure during the Asian Games held in the city of Harbin in February.

A notice from the Harbin police headquarters named them as Katheryn A. Wilson, Robert J. Snelling, and Stephen W. Johnson and said they worked through the National Security Agency. The police said nothing about how they obtained the names or where the three were believed to be at present.

The alleged attacks targeted the systems for managing the Games themselves, such as registration, competition entry and travel, all of which stored “vast amounts of sensitive personal data of individuals associated with the Games,” the police said.

The attacks continued during the Games in an attempt to “disrupt them and undermine their normal operations,” according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

The report also alleged the NSA cyberattacks targeted critical infrastructure in Heilongjiang province, which includes Harbin, such as energy, transportation, water resources, telecommunications, and defense research institutions. The hackers also attacked Chinese technology company Huawei, Xinhua said.

The report alleged that the NSA “transmitted unknown encrypted data packets to specific devices running Microsoft Windows operating systems within the province.”

The U.S. Embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.

It’s not clear why the alleged attacks would have been timed to the Asian Games, unless it was expected that China might ease some of its strict internet controls while hosting the competition.

The U.S. and China have long accused each other of cyberattacks, with the U.S. also naming Chinese individuals who worked for military hacking units, even issuing wanted posters for them.

Just last month, the Justice Department and others announced coordinated efforts to disrupt and deter the malicious cyber activities of 12 Chinese nationals, including two law enforcement officers, the DOJ reported.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence last month called China “the most active and persistent cyber threat to U.S. government, private-sector, and critical infrastructure networks.”

Technology

First lady Melania Trump listens as President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as she and the Pre...

Associated Press

Take It Down Act, addressing nonconsensual deepfakes and ‘revenge porn,’ passes. What is it?

Congress has overwhelmingly approved bipartisan legislation to enact stricter penalties for the distribution of non-consensual intimate imagery, sometimes called “revenge porn.” Known as the Take It Down Act, the bill is now headed to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature. The measure was introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, and Sen. […]

8 hours ago

A view of the exterior shows a 3D printed Starbucks building Monday, April 28, 2025, in Brownsville...

Associated Press

Starbucks’ new drive-thru in Texas is the coffee giant’s first 3D printed store in the US

There’s a new pour from Starbucks: Its first 3D printed store in the U.S. The Seattle-based coffee giant with more than 17,000 locations nationwide has never had a store quite like the one opening this week in the Texas city of Brownsville, along the U.S.-Mexico border, where a computer-controlled robotic arm did much of the […]

9 hours ago

FILE - Signage is shown outside on the grounds of Pikesville High School, May 2, 2012, in Baltimore...

Associated Press

Former school athletic director gets 4 months in jail in racist AI deepfake case

BALTIMORE (AP) — A former high school athletics director accused of using artificial intelligence to create a racist and antisemitic deepfake of a Maryland principal has been sentenced to four months in jail as part of a plea deal for disrupting school operations. Dazhon Darien, 32, accepted the deal Monday in Baltimore County Circuit Court, […]

12 hours ago

FILE - Ex-Grand Rapids police officer Christopher Schurr appears for the second day of his prelimin...

Associated Press

What to know about the trial of an ex-Michigan cop charged in the killing of a Black motorist

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — The trial of a former Michigan police officer charged with second-degree murder in the killing of a 26-year-old Black man is set to begin in Grand Rapids, three years after the case sparked weeks of protest and national outrage. Patrick Lyoya, a Congolese immigrant who sought refuge with his family […]

2 days ago

Associated Press

More police videos show early days of Hackman investigation

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Authorities released more videos Friday related to their investigation of the deaths of actor Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, including images of agents returning to the couple’s Santa Fe home days after they were found to look for more evidence. The bodies of Hackman, 95, and Arakawa, 65, were […]

4 days ago

Associated Press

Oregon agency won’t say if hackers stole data in cyberattack

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon’s environmental agency won’t say if a group of hackers stole data in a cyberattack that was first announced earlier this month. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality on Friday declined to confirm or deny reports that ransomware group Rhysida was behind the cyberattack and stole department data, including sensitive employee […]

4 days ago

China pursuing 3 alleged US operatives over cyberattacks during Asian Games