The FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) have removed China-linked malware from more than 4,200 U.S. computers in a court-authorized operation targeting a Beijing-sponsored hacking group.
The court-authorized operation, conducted with French law enforcement and French cybersecurity firm Sekoia.io, targeted a variant of PlugX malware deployed by hackers backed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
According to court documents from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the hacking group known as “Mustang Panda” or “Twill Typhoon” used PlugX to infiltrate and control targeted computers, stealing information from infected systems.
The DOJ authorities stated in court documents that the Chinese regime paid this group to develop and deploy the malware as part of broader computer intrusion campaigns….