FBI seizes hacking tools it says China used to attack NASA, DOE, US Senate and other critical networks
The FBI says it has disrupted a China-linked botnet and seized two hacking platforms allegedly used to target NASA, the US Senate, the Department of Energy and other government and critical-network organisations. The action matters because the tools reportedly allowed operators to compromise internet-connected devices at scale and conceal the origins of intrusions, supporting both alleged state-backed espionage and paid criminal activity.
US court warrants seized three domains on Monday, disabling QScan malware and the QTRouter obfuscation network, according to the Justice Department. The FBI attributes them to QTFY, allegedly linked to Chinese firm Nanjing Xinjiuwei and active since at least 2018; alleged victims include the Federal Reserve, Justice Department, NIH and three DOE laboratories, with attacks exploiting Ivanti and Citrix VPN vulnerabilities.
- FBI seized China-linked hacking infrastructure targeting US institutions.
- QScan infected IoT devices to build QTRouter’s proxy network.
- The alleged operation has been active since at least 2018.
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A botnet is a group of internet-connected devices infected so they can be controlled remotely. Hacking tools can use such devices to break into computer networks or hide where attacks come from.
The FBI says the tools in this case were linked to QTFY, a group it connects to a Chinese company, and were used against US government bodies and other organisations. The FBI also says the platforms could support both spying and paid criminal activity.
The reported targets include NASA, the US Senate and energy research laboratories. The case matters because attacks on government and other critical networks can expose sensitive information or disrupt services, while tools that mask the source can make investigations harder.
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