International coalition calls out three Chinese companies over hacking campaign

By Raphael Satter

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -An unusually broad coalition composed of the United States, its traditional English-speaking allies and other nations including Germany, Italy and Japan is calling out three Chinese companies over alleged hacking activity.

In a 37-page advisory published on Wednesday, the countries accused the firms - Sichuan Juxinhe Network Technology, Beijing Huanyu Tianqiong Information Technology and Sichuan Zhixin Ruijie Network Technology - of providing "cyber-related products and services to China's intelligence services, including multiple units in the People’s Liberation Army and Ministry of State Security."

Sichuan Juxinhe has already been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury over its alleged ties to the hacking group nicknamed "Salt Typhoon," which has been accused of gobbling up vast amounts of Americans' call records, including communications from senior leadership in Washington. Beijing Huanyu Tianqiong and Sichuan Zhixin Ruijie were both allegedly hit by recent, so far unexplained data leaks. 

Previous attempts to reach Sichuan Juxinhe have been unsuccessful. Reuters could not immediately locate contact information for the other two firms. 

China's foreign ministry said it opposed dissemination of false information based on political motives and that it was strongly dissatisfied with what it said was a move by the United States to enlist other countries to "smear and frame" China on cybersecurity issues.

Although U.S. officials have been complaining of China-linked hacking activity for decades, the breaches attributed to Salt Typhoon have stood out as particularly sweeping. One senator last year described its scope as "mind-boggling." Another said it likely represented "the largest telecommunications hack in our nation's history."

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal published on Wednesday, the FBI's top cyber official, Brett Leatherman, said that Salt Typhoon was responsible for "one of the more consequential cyber espionage breaches we have seen here in the United States." The Journal said the hackers targeted more than 80 countries and had shown varying levels of interest in more than 600 companies.

The United States regularly calls out specific Chinese and other foreign entities over their alleged involvement in cyber espionage, and it has occasionally done so in conjunction with other members of the "Five Eyes" intelligence alliance: Australia, Britain, Canada, and New Zealand. Wednesday's statement was cosigned by the latter, as well as by Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain.

(Reporting by Raphael Satter; Additional reporting by Brenda Goh; Editing by Andrea Ricci and Mark Porter)