US Department of Justice and FBI seize 13 domains used by China-linked hackers targeting Americans with security clearances

Federal authorities pulled the plug on 13 internet domains that were quietly doing some of the most old-school spy work imaginable, just dressed up in a digital costume. The US Department of Justice and FBI announced the seizure of domains linked to suspected Chinese state-sponsored operatives who were posing as legitimate consulting firms and nonprofit organizations to recruit Americans with government and military security clearances. The operation wasn’t about breaking into servers or deploying malware. It was about breaking into people’s inboxes with fake job offers and cash incentives, then walking away with sensitive information. How the scheme worked The seized domains, which included names like centrikglobalconsulting.com and rightinfoconsult.com, were designed to look like run-of-the-mill professional services firms. Behind the polished landing pages, though, the sites existed for one purpose: luring individuals who held US security clearances into sharing classified or sensitive information in exchange for payment. The operators posted fake job opportunities that promised monetary compensation for writing “reports” and providing “consulting insights.” In practice, those r...