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US Seeks Alleged Chinese Hafnium Hacker With $10 Million Reward

Securityweek •Eduard Kovacs • October 8, 2026

The US Department of State is offering up to $10 million for information on Zhang Yu, a Chinese national accused of taking part in the Hafnium campaign against Microsoft Exchange servers.

The State Department’s Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program announced the reward on Wednesday. Zhang is charged alongside Xu Zewei, who was extradited from Italy to the US in April 2026.

According to RFJ, Zhang is a director at Shanghai Firetech Information Science and Technology Company . He allegedly worked on behalf of the Shanghai State Security Bureau (SSSB), part of China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS).

Zhang and Xu were named in a nine-count indictment unsealed in July 2025, days after Italian police arrested Xu in Milan at the request of the US. Xu has since appeared in federal court in Houston, while Zhang remains at large.

“Starting in early 2020, Zhang and his partner Xu Zewei, then a general manager at Shanghai Powerock Network Co. Ltd., gained unauthorized access to COVID-19 research conducted by US-based universities and leading immunologists and virologists to steal sensitive information,” RFJ said.

The following year, the two allegedly exploited vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Server as part of Hafnium. RFJ says the campaign compromised thousands of computers worldwide, and its victims included a US university and a US law firm.

Microsoft disclosed the Hafnium attacks in March 2021 and now tracks the threat actor as Silk Typhoon . When Xu was extradited, the FBI said the campaign had compromised more than 12,700 US organizations.

The reward falls under an RFJ offer for information on anyone who targets US critical infrastructure in violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act while acting at the direction or under the control of a foreign government.

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Eduard Kovacs (@EduardKovacs) is senior managing editor at SecurityWeek. He worked as a high school IT teacher before starting a career in journalism in 2011. Eduard holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial informatics and a master’s degree in computer techniques applied in electrical engineering.

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U.S. Offers $10 Million Reward for Zhang Yu, Accused Chinese Hacker The U.S. State Department has announced a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the identification or location of Zhang Yu, a Chinese national charged with cyberattacks against U.S. COVID-19 research institutions. Zhang is accused of working under the direction of China's Ministry of State Security and the Shanghai State Security Bureau, targeting U.S. universities and researchers from February 2020 to June 2021. His alleged co-conspirator, Xu Zewei, was arrested in Italy and extradited to the U.S. in April 2026. The attacks included the HAFNIUM campaign, which exploited vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Server, compromising over 12,700 U.S. organizations. Zhang remains at large, and the Justice Department seeks public assistance in locating him. 15 sources 60

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US Seeks Alleged Chinese Hafnium Hacker With $10 Million Reward

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