The American Ministry of Justice had to correct a loud statement about the Chinese hacker group QTFY. After the first publication, it seemed that the intruders had successfully infiltrated NASA, the Federal Reserve, the U.S. Senate and a number of other agencies. Now the authorities have clarified the wording. Many organizations really attacked, but not everyone managed to hack.
The U.S. Department of Justice changed the press release issued after the operation against the Internet infrastructure QTFY. In the original version, the listed state structures were called the “victims” of Chinese hackers. In the corrected version, the agency writes that the Senate, the Federal Reserve, NASA and other organizations were among the “QTFY goals.”
The Ministry of Justice separately recognized the reason for correction. The press release of August 26 presented all the listed departments as victims, although the FBI's materials showed another picture. Hackers really tried to attack all these organizations, but the successful penetration of the investigators confirmed only in part of the cases.
The difference between “goal” and “victim” changes the scale of history. According to the FBI, the Chinese-affiliated group has been interested in NASA, the Federal Reserve, the Department of Energy, the Department of Justice, the Department of Health, the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Senate since 2018.
The attempt to hack NASA, for example, ended in failure. The agency managed to install an update for the software through which the intruders tried to enter the network. A separate joint warning from U.S. intelligence agencies also points to a failed attempt to access the Senate network in March 2026.
Successful attacks were indeed. The FBI links QTFY to penetrations in September 2024 into three national laboratories of the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Institutes of Health, one of the units of the Department of Health and the American manufacturer of information security equipment. In the documents, such organizations are already explicitly called victims.
U.S. intelligence agencies have also reported data thefts from unnamed defense contractors, financial organizations and universities. Therefore, the correction of the Ministry of Justice does not cancel the campaign of cyber espionage itself, but significantly narrows the list of confirmed hacks of state structures.
China has previously rejected Washington's accusations. The representative of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China said that the United States uses the topic of cybersecurity to discredit China and expand the concept of national security for the sake of restrictions against Chinese companies.
The correction of the Ministry of Justice shows how much one word can change the meaning of the message about a major cyber operation. NASA, the Federal Reserve and the Senate were really interested in QTFY, but it is premature to consider every recorded blow successful. In a number of cases, the American authorities managed to defeat the attack.
The U.S. Department of Justice changed the press release issued after the operation against the Internet infrastructure QTFY. In the original version, the listed state structures were called the “victims” of Chinese hackers. In the corrected version, the agency writes that the Senate, the Federal Reserve, NASA and other organizations were among the “QTFY goals.”
The Ministry of Justice separately recognized the reason for correction. The press release of August 26 presented all the listed departments as victims, although the FBI's materials showed another picture. Hackers really tried to attack all these organizations, but the successful penetration of the investigators confirmed only in part of the cases.
The difference between “goal” and “victim” changes the scale of history. According to the FBI, the Chinese-affiliated group has been interested in NASA, the Federal Reserve, the Department of Energy, the Department of Justice, the Department of Health, the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Senate since 2018.
The attempt to hack NASA, for example, ended in failure. The agency managed to install an update for the software through which the intruders tried to enter the network. A separate joint warning from U.S. intelligence agencies also points to a failed attempt to access the Senate network in March 2026.
Successful attacks were indeed. The FBI links QTFY to penetrations in September 2024 into three national laboratories of the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Institutes of Health, one of the units of the Department of Health and the American manufacturer of information security equipment. In the documents, such organizations are already explicitly called victims.
U.S. intelligence agencies have also reported data thefts from unnamed defense contractors, financial organizations and universities. Therefore, the correction of the Ministry of Justice does not cancel the campaign of cyber espionage itself, but significantly narrows the list of confirmed hacks of state structures.
China has previously rejected Washington's accusations. The representative of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China said that the United States uses the topic of cybersecurity to discredit China and expand the concept of national security for the sake of restrictions against Chinese companies.
The correction of the Ministry of Justice shows how much one word can change the meaning of the message about a major cyber operation. NASA, the Federal Reserve and the Senate were really interested in QTFY, but it is premature to consider every recorded blow successful. In a number of cases, the American authorities managed to defeat the attack.
