13 Countries Accuse Chinese Companies of Cyberattacks

An alliance of 13 countries, including the US, Germany, and Japan, is accusing three Chinese companies of collaborating with Beijing on cyberattacks. The attacks target government agencies, telecommunications companies, and other targets.

The accused companies are Sichuan Juxinhe Network Technology, Beijing Huanyu Tianqiong Information Technology, and Sichuan Zhixin Ruijie Network Technology. The governments claim that these companies provide products and services to Chinese intelligence services, including units of the People's Liberation Army and the Ministry of State Security.

The US Treasury Department had already sanctioned Sichuan Juxinhe for its connections to the Salt Typhoon hacking group, which is believed to operate on behalf of the Chinese military. Salt Typhoon is accused of one of the largest cyberattacks in US history, targeting, among other things, the communications of Donald Trump and senior officials.

The US has accused Beijing of cyberattacks for years, but the scale of Salt Typhoon's operation is considered unusually large.