china(1800)_Herr_Loeffler_shutterstock

FBI Wraps Up Eradication Effort of Chinese ‘PlugX’ Malware

Share:

Two hacker groups were paid to develop malware targeting victims in the US, Europe, and Asia, as well as various Chinese dissident groups.

NEWS BRIEF

The US Justice Department and the FBI said on Jan. 14 that they were able to delete “PlugX” malware from thousands of devices globally as part of a cooperative effort.

The operation spanned a series of months, targeting the work of a group of China-sponsored hackers known as “Mustang Panda” and “Twill Typhoon.” The group used PlugX malware to infect victims’ computers and steal their information.

According to court documents, the Chinese government paid the hacking group to develop their strain of PlugX.

Since 2014, the group has targeted thousands of victims across the US, Europe, and Asia, as well as Chinese dissident groups. Many victims are still unaware their devices remain infected with the malware.

“This wide-ranging hack and long-term infection of thousands of Windows-based computers, including many home computers in the United States, demonstrates the recklessness and aggressiveness of [People’s Republic of China] state-sponsored hackers,” said US Attorney Jacqueline Romero.

French law enforcement led the international operation, and a French cybersecurity company, Sekoia.io, was able to identify and report on the capability to send commands to delete the PlugX version from infected devices.

The tactic was tested and deemed viable by the FBI, leading the organization to obtain nine warrants to begin deleting PlugX from US-based computers.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

loader-image
London, GB
1:07 am, Feb 12, 2025
weather icon 4°C
L: 3° | H: 5°
overcast clouds
Humidity: 91 %
Pressure: 1019 mb
Wind: 5 mph NNW
Wind Gust: 0 mph
UV Index: 0
Precipitation: 0 mm
Clouds: 100%
Rain Chance: 0%
Visibility: 6 km
Sunrise: 7:20 am
Sunset: 5:09 pm
DailyHourly
Daily ForecastHourly Forecast
Today 9:00 pm
weather icon
3° | 5°°C 0 mm 0% 5 mph 89 % 1021 mb 0 mm/h
Tomorrow 9:00 pm
weather icon
3° | 6°°C 0 mm 0% 9 mph 87 % 1025 mb 0 mm/h
Fri Feb 14 9:00 pm
weather icon
1° | 6°°C 0 mm 0% 8 mph 81 % 1026 mb 0 mm/h
Sat Feb 15 9:00 pm
weather icon
1° | 6°°C 0 mm 0% 8 mph 85 % 1024 mb 0 mm/h
Sun Feb 16 9:00 pm
weather icon
4° | 8°°C 1 mm 100% 6 mph 95 % 1019 mb 0 mm/h
Today 3:00 am
weather icon
4° | 4°°C 0 mm 0% 3 mph 89 % 1019 mb 0 mm/h
Today 6:00 am
weather icon
4° | 4°°C 0 mm 0% 3 mph 79 % 1018 mb 0 mm/h
Today 9:00 am
weather icon
4° | 4°°C 0 mm 0% 3 mph 76 % 1019 mb 0 mm/h
Today 12:00 pm
weather icon
5° | 5°°C 0 mm 0% 3 mph 68 % 1019 mb 0 mm/h
Today 3:00 pm
weather icon
6° | 6°°C 0 mm 0% 3 mph 71 % 1019 mb 0 mm/h
Today 6:00 pm
weather icon
5° | 5°°C 0 mm 0% 5 mph 76 % 1020 mb 0 mm/h
Today 9:00 pm
weather icon
5° | 5°°C 0 mm 0% 5 mph 78 % 1021 mb 0 mm/h
Tomorrow 12:00 am
weather icon
3° | 3°°C 0 mm 0% 4 mph 87 % 1022 mb 0 mm/h
Name Price24H (%)
Bitcoin(BTC)
€92,697.36
-1.99%
Ethereum(ETH)
€2,519.75
-3.35%
Tether(USDT)
€0.96
-0.03%
XRP(XRP)
€2.34
-1.18%
Solana(SOL)
€191.26
-2.18%
USDC(USDC)
€0.97
-0.01%
Dogecoin(DOGE)
€0.244789
-1.94%
Shiba Inu(SHIB)
€0.000015
-1.44%
Pepe(PEPE)
€0.000010
-1.37%
Scroll to Top