ALBAWABA – U.S. officials have pulled back earlier assertions that Chinese cyber spies had successfully hacked into a number of important federal offices, saying the agencies were targeted but not necessarily compromised.
The U.S. Senate, Federal Reserve, NASA and others were among the targets of QTFY, a Chinese espionage platform that was taken down Wednesday in a raid on internet domains, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement released Friday.
The federal entities were victims of the hackers, according to an earlier version of the Justice Department statement, Reuters said.
Justice Department Sings a Different Tune
That discrepancy might drastically impact the scope of the accused cyber operation. Being targeted doesn’t necessarily mean hackers successfully infiltrated government systems or obtained critical information.
The statement was changed to include a notice that adjustments were made to ensure the press release appropriately reflects the claims contained in the affidavit in support of the seizures of the domains by the U.S. government.
The new language has raised questions about whether any American institutions were truly compromised or were just chosen as possible targets.
Reuters was not immediately able to ascertain which agencies U.S. authorities believe were effectively hacked.
The Justice Department, FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) also did not immediately respond Friday to demands for comment.
The modification follows U.S. authorities publicly exposing the suspected Chinese cyberespionage infrastructure, prompting additional doubts about the real size of the operation and whether early comments oversold the hackers’ accomplishment.
