Italian police arrested a 33 year old Chinese man Xu Zewei at Milan’s Malpensa Airport on July 3 after arriving on a flight from China. The individual is suspected to have ties with Silk Typhoon, a Chinese state-sponsored hacking ground responsible for multiple cyber attacks against American government and private organisations.
Italian media ANSA reports that the Italian police nabbed Zewei on an international warrant from the US government. Zewei is specificallyu claimed to be linked with hte 2020 Silk Typhoon attacks on infectious disease researchers and healthcare organisations in 2020, the height of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.
The goal was to steal data on COVID vaccines. According to a May 2020 advisory issued by the FBI and CISA, the former investigated “targeting and compromise of U.S. organizations conducting COVID-19-related research by PRC-affiliated cyber actors and non-traditional collectors. These actors have been observed attempting to identify and illicitly obtain valuable intellectual property (IP) and public health data related to vaccines, treatments, and testing from networks and personnel affiliated with COVID-19-related research.”
Zewei was travelling with his wife at the time, who has opposed the arrest claiming her husband is an IT manager at Shanghai GTA Semi Conductor Ltd and develops IT systems and network infrastructure. Zewei’s wife believes him getting an entry Visa to Italy should be indicative of his innocense. His defence lawyer, Enrico Giarda, also dismissed the accusations as “fanciful.”
If the allegations are indeed true, Zewei will be charged with crimes including wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, punishable by up to five years in jail. Criminal association with wire fraud also carries a maximum term of 20 years, along with unauthorised access to protected computers which adds another five years.
In the News: New ransomware gang found terrorising Windows and Linux PCs
