FBI disrupts botnet run by Chinese hackers who hijacked over 200,000 devices in U.S.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation disrupted a botnet run by Chinese state-sponsored hackers that hijacked more than 200,000 “consumer devices” in the United States, according to the Department of Justice.

“The botnet malware infected numerous types of consumer devices, including small-office/home-office (SOHO) routers, internet protocol (IP) cameras, digital video recorders (DVRs), and network-attached storage (NAS) devices,” the DOJ said.

The botnet was shutdown by a “court-authorized law enforcement operation.”

The hacked worked under the Integrity Technology Group, based in Beijing, and known as “Flax Typhoon” in the private sector, according to DOJ.

“The targeted hacking of hundreds of thousands of innocent victims in the United States and around the world shows the breadth and aggressiveness of PRC state-sponsored hackers,” said U.S. Attorney Eric G. Olshan for the Western District of Pennsylvania in a statement.

“This court-authorized operation disrupted a sophisticated botnet designed to steal sensitive information and launch disruptive cyber attacks,” he added.