Hackers Indicted in Equifax Breach Are Part of China’s Electronic Warfare Program

Signs that depict the four members of China's military indicted on charges of hacking into Equifax Inc. and stealing data from millions of Americans are seen shortly after Attorney General William Barr held a press conference at the Department of Justice in Washington on Feb. 10, 2020. Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images

The FBI published a wanted poster and an indictment on Feb. 10 of four “Chinese military-backed hackers” for their alleged roles in the 2017 cyberattack against credit company Equifax.

The Equifax breach exposed personal data of 145 million Americans, including Social Security and driver’s license numbers. The FBI described the breach as “the largest known theft of personally identifiable information ever carried out by state-sponsored actors.”