Full Text: DOJ Summarizes Cyber-Espionage Charges Against Chinese Officials

Defendants:  Wang Dong, Sun Kailiang, Wen Xinyu, Huang Zhenyu, and Gu Chunhui, who were officers in Unit 61398 of the Third Department of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA).  The indictment alleges that Wang, Sun, and Wen, among others known and unknown to the grand jury, hacked or attempted to hack into U.S. entities named in the indictment, while Huang and Gu supported their conspiracy by, among other things, managing infrastructure (e.g., domain accounts) used for hacking.

Victims: Westinghouse Electric Co. (Westinghouse), U.S. subsidiaries of SolarWorld AG (SolarWorld), United States Steel Corp. (U.S. Steel), Allegheny Technologies Inc. (ATI), the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union (USW) and Alcoa Inc.

Time period: 2006-2014.

Crimes: Thirty-one counts as follows (all defendants are charged in all counts).

Summary of Defendants’ Conduct Alleged in the Indictment

An indictment is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.