(ECNS) -- The Harbin Public Security Bureau issued on Tuesday rewards for the capture of three U.S. criminal suspects accused of cyberattacks targeting the Harbin 2025 Asian Winter Games held in February in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.
The three wanted individuals -- Katheryn A. Wilson, Robert J. Snelling, and Stephen W. Johnson -- are alleged to be agents of the U.S. National Security Agency's (NSA) Office of Tailored Access Operation (TAO).
According to technical experts, the cyberattacks targeted vital Chinese systems to compromise the cybersecurity environment during the high-profile international sporting event.
Investigation revealed that the pre-Games cyberattacks targeted the athlete registration system, arrival and departure management platform, and competition entry systems to steal athletes' private information.
The cyberattacks escalated on Feb. 3, coinciding with the opening ice hockey match. At that point, the NSA shifted focus to real-time operational systems, including the event information release platform, in an effort to disrupt the proceedings of the Games.
Besides, the NSA also conducted cyber intrusions into critical sectors within Heilongjiang Province, including energy, transportation, water resources, telecommunications, and defense research institutions. These attacks were allegedly aimed at undermining China's key infrastructure, destabilizing social order, and extracting classified data.
The hackers also sent encrypted data packets to specific Windows devices across Heilongjiang Province, likely attempting to activate pre-installed hidden backdoors in the operating systems.
The cyberattacks also involved institutions affiliated with the NSA, among which the University of California and Virginia Tech have been identified as participants.
(By Gong Weiwei)
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