Zewei Xu's family reportedly bemused at arrest as extradition tabled

A man who US authorities allege is a member of Chinese state-sponsored cyberespionage outfit Silk Typhoon was arrested in Milan last week following a tipoff from the US embassy.

Zewei Xu, 33, is alleged by American authorities to have been involved in China's espionage efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, tasked with spying on vaccine development at the University of Texas.

According to Italian news agency Ansa, the US issued an extradition request to Italian authorities, and Xu was arrested upon arriving at Milan's Malpensa airport on July 3.

The agency also said today that court documents indicated Xu is also suspected of being part of Hafnium, now known as Silk Typhoon, which was previously tracked for masterminding a spate of activity targeting US computers and networks.

Hafnium's most infamous work pertained to the Microsoft Exchange attack in 2020, during which attackers stole sensitive documents related to US ...