US blames China for hacks, opening new front in cyber offensive

The United States and its foreign allies plan Monday to accuse China of overseeing widespread attempts to extort money in cyberspace, including through ransomware attacks, a dramatic escalation in the increasingly urgent attempt by the Biden administration to stave off further breaches.

In a coordinated announcement, the White House and governments in Europe and Asia will identify China's Ministry of State Security, the sprawling and secretive civilian intelligence agency, with using "criminal contract hackers" to conduct a range of destabilizing activities around the world for personal profit, according to a senior US administration official. The administration official also said China was behind a specific ransomware attack against a US target that involved a "large ransom request" — and added that Chinese ransom demands have been in the "millions of dollars."