Today, the Department of Justice is expected to announce charges for a number of Chinese nationals for an extensive hacking campaign against the US, CNBC reports. The campaign was allegedly successful at infiltrating at least 45 US technology companies and government agencies, and these actions were apparently taken at the behest of the Chinese government. This comes a week after the NSA warned it had evidence of China preparing for "high-profile" cyber-attacks. The DOJ is expected to hold a press conference shortly with more details on the charges.

The Washington Post reports that the US wasn't the only target in this extensive campaign -- Britain, Japan, Canada, Australia, Brazil, France, Switzerland and South Korea were also among the targets of this Chinese hacking group. Because of the global nature of the attack, the Post says that US and "more than a dozen" allies are expected to condemn China for ongoing attempts to steal trade secrets and compromise various government agencies.

This comes at a time when China / US relations are increasingly fraught, especially in the technology sector. Earlier this year, the DOJ charged ten individuals for stealing intellectual property relating to jet engine design, and last week it was revealed that Chinese hackers successfully targeted Navy contractors multiple times over the last 18 months. It appears that today's charges are unrelated, but the US and China have also been at odds for months in trade negotiations, with the White House threatening to levy large tariffs on Chinese goods as a way to pressure the country into stopping what the US deems unfair trade practices. Further complicating matters is the recent arrest in Canada of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou at the request of the DOJ.

Source: The Washington Post, CNBC

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