The U.S. announced a $10 million reward on Tuesday for information leading to the arrest of a Chinese man and his co-conspirators wanted for hacking computer networks.
Guan Tianfeng, 30, is believed to be residing in China’s Sichuan Province, according to the State Department. An indictment unsealed on Tuesday charges Guan with conspiracy to commit computer fraud and wire fraud.
The Treasury Department also imposed sanctions on the company Guan worked for, Sichuan Silence Information Technology Co Ltd. The indictment claims that Guan and his co-conspirators exploited vulnerabilities in firewalls sold by UK-based cybersecurity firm Sophos Ltd.
“The defendant and his co-conspirators exploited vulnerabilities in tens of thousands of network security devices, infecting them with malware designed to steal information from victims worldwide,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco stated.
In April 2020, 81,000 firewall devices were attacked globally, aiming to steal data, including usernames and passwords, while deploying ransomware on targeted computers. Over 23,000 firewalls targeted were located in the U.S., 36 of which protected critical infrastructure systems, according to the Treasury.
“The zero-day vulnerability Guan Tianfeng and his co-conspirators discovered and exploited impacted firewalls owned by businesses across the United States,” said FBI agent Herbert Stapleton. “If Sophos hadn’t quickly identified and mitigated the vulnerability, the damage could have been far more severe.”
The indictment alleges that Sichuan Silence sold the data obtained through these hacks to Chinese businesses and government entities, including the Ministry of Public Security.
When contacted, a representative of Sichuan Silence declined to comment, stating that the company did not accept interviews. The individual also confirmed that Guan was “uncontactable.”
