FBI Seizes Domains Used by China-Sponsored Botnet Targeting US Government Agencies

The FBI has taken action against a China-sponsored botnet that was allegedly used to target several US government agencies, including NASA and the Federal Reserve. According to the Justice Department's statement, the seizures of the botnet's domains have denied the operators access to the platforms.

The affected agencies include NASA, the Federal Reserve, the Departments of Energy, Justice, and Health and Human Services. The U.S. Senate was also compromised as recently as 2026, according to the government's affidavit seeking a court order to seize the botnet's domains.

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Botnet's Targeted Agencies

The Justice Department stated that the domain seizures made the botnet and its command and control servers 'inoperable,' as the domains were hardcoded into the botnet's code, and were critical for the botnet's communication and essential operations.

Network giant Lumen stated in a blog post that it had observed the hackers profiling and targeting government agencies, the defense and aerospace sectors, and others for the past year, and shared threat intelligence with the FBI.

The FBI has taken action against the China-sponsored group behind the botnet, which offers computer hacking services to its customers. The customers include Chinese government hackers working for the Ministry of State Security.

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China-Sponsored Group Behind Botnet

The hacks date back to 2018 and affected multiple US government agencies.

The Justice Department's action against the botnet is a significant development in the ongoing effort to combat cyber threats from China.

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The FBI has seized a series of domains that were used According to the Justice Department’s statement on Wednesday, the seizures of the botnet’s domains deny the operators access to the platforms. The botnet was allegedly used Prosecutors stated the China state-sponsored group, known as QTFY, was run The botnet aimed to serve as obfuscation networks, which hide the malicious traffic of hackers to make their activity more difficult to detect.

Per the Justice Department, QTFY offers computer hacking services to its customers, who include Chinese government hackers working for the Ministry of State Security, and allows them to use the botnet.