Alleged Chinese State Hacker Wanted by US Arrested in Italy

A Chinese national accused by the United States of being a member of a state-sponsored hacking group has been arrested in Italy.

The suspect, 33-year-old Xu Zewei, has been charged on nine counts alongside another Chinese national, 44-year-old Zhang Yu, who remains at large.

The US Justice Department says Xu and Zhang are part of the group tracked as Silk Typhoon (previously Hafnium based on Microsoft’s prior naming convention). Silk Typhoon is a Chinese threat actor best known for the 2024 attack on the US Treasury Department, as well as for targeting the global IT supply chain.

According to Microsoft, Silk Typhoon has been known to target healthcare, legal services, higher education, defense, and non-governmental organizations in the US, Australia, Japan and Vietnam.

The Justice Department has charged Xu and Zhang over cyberattacks carried out between February 2020 and June 2021 on behalf of China’s Ministry of State ...