On Tuesday, police authorities in Harbin, located in Heilongjiang Province in northeast China, announced that they are in pursuit of three operatives linked to the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) due to suspected cyberattacks against China.
The Harbin public security bureau stated that the three operatives – Katheryn A. Wilson, Robert J. Snelling, and Stephen W. Johnson – had been involved in cyberattacks aimed at the Asian Winter Games that took place in the city in February.
Investigations conducted by Chinese technical teams uncovered that these cyberattacks were perpetrated by the Office of Tailored Access Operations of the NSA. In an attempt to hide the source of its attacks and safeguard its cyber weapons, this office utilized multiple affiliated front organizations to acquire IP addresses from different countries and anonymously lease servers in regions such as Europe and Asia.
Authorities disclosed that investigations showed the NSA concentrated its pre – event cyberattacks on crucial systems of the Asian Winter Games. These systems included the registration, arrival/departure management, and competition entry platforms. These systems, which were vital for pre – event operations, held a large quantity of sensitive personal data of those involved with the Games.
