Chinese hackers spied on Belgian high-tech company

Steph Deschamps / July 25, 2020

Two hackers on suspicion of running for the Chinese state are charged with large-scale espionage in the United States. Notably to the detriment of a Belgian company, Le Soir reported on Saturday.

On July 7, an American Grand Jury indicted two Chinese pirates. They are accused of having spied on companies, NGOs and laboratories around the world for ten years.

The case is a reason for escalating diplomatic tensions between the United States and China. The culmination of an evacuation order within 72 hours from the Chinese Consulate in Houston, Texas. China has promised "retaliation" after this dramatic move.

The alleged cybercriminals would have targeted a whole battery of strategic or commercial interests: high-tech industries in the civilian and health sectors, the business sector, education and video games, solar energy, defense The trade secrets stolen would be worth "hundreds of millions of dollars" according to the Department of Justice. In recent times, web crooks have focused their efforts on scientific and pharmaceutical research against the spread of the coronavirus. Especially labs looking for a vaccine.

And in the list of the various victims of the pirate duo included in the indictment, a Belgian company is cited, writes Le Soir. The American justice describes the fraud in these terms: a “Belgian software manufacturing company” was the target in March-April 2018 of a theft of “approximately 142 gigabytes of documents”, on “digital imagery and algorithms related to fluid mechanics ”.

The Brussels public prosecutor's office confirms that an "investigation is underway", but does not wish to make any further comments.

Credit : Sudinfo