US Offers $10 Million Reward for Chinese Hacker Accused of State-Backed Cyberattacks

The U.S. State Department is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the identification or location of a Chinese hacker accused of carrying out cyberattacks at the direction of China’s Ministry of State Security.

Zhang allegedly worked at the direction of the Ministry of State Security (MSS) and the Shanghai State Security Bureau (SSSB).

The two later allegedly exploited vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Server as part of the HAFNIUM campaign, a massive intrusion operation that compromised thousands of computers worldwide. The U.S. government, the EU, the UK, NATO, and cybersecurity leaders later condemned the operation as “indiscriminate,” “reckless,” “irresponsible,” and “destabilizing.”

Both Zhang and Xu face a nine-count indictment related to alleged computer intrusions between February 2020 and June 2021.

Zhang remains at large. The RFJ said Zhang is wanted for his alleged role in “malicious cyber activities against U.S. critical infrastructure.”