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A post from Hainan Xiandun stood out. The ad, posted on the Sichuan University computer science recruitment board in 2018, boasted that Xiandun had “recruited a significant number of government secret-related jobs.”
Headquartered in Haikou, the capital city of Hainan, the company paid monthly salaries of between $1,200 and $3,000 – solid middle-class salaries for Chinese tech workers fresh out of college – with bonuses as high as $15,000. Xiandun’s ads listed an email address used by cybersecurity experts and other firms seeking linguists, suggesting they were part of a network.
Chinese hacking groups are increasingly “sharing malware, exploiting it and coordinating their efforts,” the operators of “Intrusion Truth” wrote in an email. The operators did not reveal their identities, citing the sensitivity of their work.
Xiandun’s registered address was the library of Hainan University. The phone number matched a computer science professor and a People’s Liberation Army veteran who runs a website that offers payments to students who are new to password cracking. The professor was not charged.
Other records and phone numbers led the bloggers to an email address and frequent flyer account belonging to one of the company’s executives, Ding Xiaoyang.
The indictment claimed that Mr. Ding was a state security guard who led the hackers working in Hainan Xiandun. It contained details that the blog could not find, such as an award Mr. Ding received from the Ministry of State Security for young leaders in the organization.
Mr. Ding and the others named in the indictment could not be reached.
While it’s traceable for now, China’s state security apparatus may be learning how to better hide its footprints, says Matthew Brazil, a former China expert with the Commerce Department’s Export Enforcement Agency and co-author of a paper. Chinese espionage research.
“The capabilities of Chinese services are not up to par,” he said. “Their games are getting better and in five or 10 years it will be a different story.”
Nicole Perlroth contributing reporting.
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