US officials revise claims on Chinese cyberattacks, citing targets not victims

U.S. officials are walking back earlier assertions that several government agencies had been compromised by Chinese spies. The revised stance now states that these organizations were among the targets of a sophisticated Chinese cyber espionage operation.

The Justice Department issued a newly edited statement on Friday, identifying the U.S. Senate, the Federal Reserve, and NASA as being "among the targets of QTFY." This platform is described as a Chinese spy platform that officials highlighted during a recent internet domain seizure operation. This contrasts with a previous version of the statement that had described the agencies as victims of the hackers.

A note appended to the revised statement indicated that edits were made to ensure "this press release accurately reflects the government’s allegations in the affidavit in support of the domain seizures." This suggests a careful recalibration of the government's public claims regarding the extent and nature of the cyber intrusions.

Reuters sought clarification from the Justice Department, the FBI, and CISA regarding which specific agencies were now believed to have been targeted and which, if any, were actually breached. However, responses were not immediately available on Friday, leaving some ambiguity about the precise impact of the alleged cyber activities.