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In October 2018, U.S. prosecutors accused Chinese intelligence officers, hackers and company insiders of working together to steal information about a commercial-airliner turbofan engine. The indictment alleged a campaign against a French aerospace company and its U.S. partner, along with attacks on component manufacturers. These were allegations in an indictment, not findings established at trial.
What did prosecutors say the attackers were after?
The central target was information about a turbofan engine being developed for commercial airliners by a French aerospace company in partnership with a U.S. company. Prosecutors also alleged that the campaign targeted component manufacturers in Massachusetts, Oregon and Arizona.
The indictment described the alleged theft as an effort to obtain sensitive commercial and technical information. The public account does not establish that the accused successfully stole every targeted item or provide a complete inventory of material obtained.
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The federal indictment charged ten Chinese nationals: two intelligence officers, six hackers and two insiders. The alleged organizers were Zha Rong and Chai Meng, described as officers of the Jiangsu Province Ministry of State Security (JSSD), based in Nanjing. The JSSD was identified as an arm of China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS).
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The allegations also assigned roles to people connected to the company’s China office. Tian Xi was accused of placing malware on company computers, while Gu Gen, described as the head of IT and security, was accused of warning the Chinese agency after foreign law enforcement discovered the malware. The public report identifies these two alleged insiders but does not name all ten defendants.
How did the alleged operation work?
The October 31, 2018, SecurityWeek report described several techniques and alleged roles in the aerospace campaign. The indictment portrayed the activity as a combination of remote access attempts and help from someone inside the company—not as a single method.
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| Technique or role | What the indictment reportedly alleged |
|---|---|
| Phishing | Hackers used phishing in attempts to compromise the French aerospace company. |
| Watering-hole attacks | Attackers reportedly used compromised or targeted websites to reach intended victims. The report also described a separate related operation that attempted to use a San Diego technology company’s website as a watering hole. |
| Domain hijacking | The reported campaign included domain hijacking as another way to support attacks on the aerospace target. |
| Malware and alleged insider assistance | Tian Xi was accused of planting malware provided by a JSSD officer on company computers. Gu Gen was accused of alerting the agency after foreign law enforcement found the malware. |
The allegations therefore involved both malware and alleged insider assistance. The report does not establish that every technique succeeded, or specify which particular engine files or other materials were taken by each method.
When did the alleged activity take place?
| Date or period | What happened |
|---|---|
| January 2010–May 2015 | Period during which the aerospace campaign allegedly operated. |
| October 2018 | A federal indictment was unsealed and the charges became public. |
| October 31, 2018 | SecurityWeek published its report on the indictment. |
The report described the San Diego technology-company operation as separate but related; it should not be treated as the same target or campaign as the alleged aerospace-engine theft.
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Were the accused officers arrested?
No. When SecurityWeek published its report on October 31, 2018, none of the ten people named in the newly unsealed indictment was in U.S. custody. That statement describes their status at the time of publication; the report does not provide a later custody update.
What did U.S. officials say?
U.S. Attorney Adam Braverman said: “State-sponsored hacking is a direct threat to our national security. This action is yet another example of criminal efforts by the MSS to facilitate the theft of private data for China’s commercial gain.” His statement expressed the government’s position when charges were announced; it is not an independent finding of guilt.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How does the case fit the earlier U.S. accusations?
In May 2014, the United States brought charges against five Chinese military officers accused of hacking U.S. nuclear, metals and solar companies to steal trade secrets. That case involved different defendants and victims from the 2018 aerospace indictment. Both illustrate a longer history of U.S. accusations of Chinese cyber-espionage, but the existence of the earlier case does not prove the later allegations.
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