Fugitive Military Hackers Traced to Government Office in Shanghai

Operatives with hacker unit help the Chinese regime spy on its own people

Hackers with the Chinese military who are frequently tied to cyberattacks against the United States have been traced to a government office in Shanghai. The findings from the Project 2049 Institute think tank also show evidence that the hackers help the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) spy on its own people.

The findings are presented in a new report from Mark Stokes, executive director of the Project 2049 Institute. It provides an overview of how the military hackers in China operate, what their capabilities are, and which organizations they’re tied to.

In May 2014, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted five Chinese military hackers who serve in Unit 61398, also known as the Second Bureau. The unit is just one of at least 11 similar hacker units under the Third Department of the Chinese military’s warfighting office, the General Staff Department (GSD).

According to Stokes, the hacker unit is more than just a roomful of soldiers behind computers. Their bases and facilities can be found in all parts of China, and their work stretches far beyond the cyberattacks we’ve seen on the U.S. government and U.S. businesses.

One of its sub-units, he notes, shares its address with a Shanghai City government office.

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