The U.S. State Department is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information on a Chinese national accused of working for Beijing’s intelligence services to steal COVID-19 research from American universities and scientists.
The department’s Rewards for Justice program is seeking information on Zhang Yu, a director of Shanghai Firetech Information Science and Technology Co., who allegedly conducted cyberespionage on behalf of the Chinese regime’s Ministry of State Security (MSS).
The FBI Cyber Division also publicized the reward on Oct. 7, asking for information about Zhang, his associates, or their malicious cyber activities.
Zhang remains at large. His co-defendant, Xu Zewei, was arrested in Italy in July 2025 and extradited to the United States on April 25, 2026, to face federal hacking charges in Houston….