Hackers with ties to the Chinese government stole millions of dollars in COVID money.

Hackers with ties to the Chinese government stole millions of dollars in COVID money.

The federal government of the United States has just confirmed the first formal incidence of pandemic fraud linked to foreign state-sponsored hackers.

According to NBC News, at least $20 million in COVID relief money have been stolen by the China-based, state-sponsored hacking organization APT41. a g a .

APT41 is a sophisticated gang that has previously carried out high-level attacks against the United States. In order to directly access platforms and systems, the hackers have perfected their craft by targeting developers via software weaknesses. APT41, for example, stole text messages from thousands of phone numbers in 2019 by infiltrating telecoms providers with malware.

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, cybersecurity experts reported an increase in hacking attacks in 2020. APT41 is a major contributor to the surge. The group, according to experts, targeted several healthcare organizations, media organizations, and manufacturers in North America, Europe, and Asia.

According to a new Department of Labor analysis, an estimated $46 billion was obtained fraudulently from the COVID-19 pandemic unemployment insurance relief monies. Some experts believe that figure could be significantly higher. Security experts believe that foreign-sponsored criminal actors contributed significantly to the entire amount.

According to NBC News, the Secret Service declined to provide any other details regarding the attack. Although officials confirmed that a slew of investigations into this form of fraud are underway, including both domestic and international perpetrators. APT41 is also a “significant role in these investigations.”

It is yet unknown whether the Chinese government directed this specific APT41 attack, which stole COVID relief funding.

“I’ve never seen them target government money before,” stated one cybersecurity expert to NBC News. “That would be an increase.”