The US has blamed China for the 2017 Equifax hack as prosecutors announced hacking and espionage charges against four Chinese military officers, reported the Financial Times.
Federal officials on Monday portrayed the 2017 attack on the consumer credit agency as just one part of an continuing effort by China to steal US data and intellectual property.
The personal data of almost 150 million Americans were compromised in the breach, along with 1 million citizens of Canada and the UK. Equifax agreed a $800 million US settlement last year over the hack.
William Barr, the US attorney-general, said the attack on Equifax was a “deliberate and sweeping intrusion into the private information of the American people.
“Unfortunately, the Equifax hack fits a disturbing and unacceptable pattern of state-sponsored computer intrusions and thefts by China and its citizens,” he added. The attorney-general said the stolen data could be useful for Chinese efforts to develop artificial intelligence technologies and for targeting Americans in intelligence operations.