Four members of the Chinese military have been charged with hacking into the computer networks of the U.S. credit rating agency Equifax and stealing personal data and trade secrets, U.S. law enforcement officials announced on Monday.
The four Chinese nationals were members of the Chinese army’s research arm and have been charged with conspiracy to commit computer fraud, economic espionage and wire fraud , the officials said.“
This was a deliberate and sweeping intrusion into the private information of the American people,” attorney general William Barr announced at a press conference.
The announcement comes as the Justice Department steps up its prosecution of Chinese espionage cases amid trade tensions between Washington and Beijing.