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DOJ confirms FBI operation that mass-deleted Chinese malware from thousands of US computers

The FBI says it was authorized to mass-remove “PlugX” malware from more than 4,000 compromised machines in the United States

U.S. authorities have confirmed that they disrupted the operations of a Chinese state-backing hacking group, which infiltrated millions of computers worldwide to steal data as part of a years-long espionage campaign. The Department of Justice and the FBI said on Tuesday that they had successfully deleted the malware planted by the China-backed hacking group, known as “Twill Typhoon” or “Mustang Panda,” from thousands of infected systems across the United States during a court-authorized operation in August 2024. According to Microsoft, which developed the naming system for hacking groups, Twill Typhoon (previously known as “Tantalum”) has a history of successfully compromising government machines across Africa and Europe, and humanitarian organizations worldwide.

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