WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The US said on Wednesday it had disrupted a Chinese hacking operation responsible for break-ins and attempts on the Justice Department, NASA, the Federal Reserve, the Senate, and other sensitive government agencies.

In a statement, the Justice Department said it had seized domains used by two hacking platforms, dubbed QScan and QTRouter, which it said had been used as part of the campaign.

An affidavit identified the US Department of Energy, Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institutes of Health, and four unnamed companies in the US and South Korea as being among the hackers’ victims.

A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington said in an email that while they were not familiar with the specifics mentioned in the DOJ statement, the “Chinese government firmly opposes and combats all forms of cyberattacks in accordance with the law.”

The US uses cybersecurity issues to “smear or discredit China,” the spokesperson said, and China “opposes the US overstretching the concept of national security and using it as a pretext to impose discriminatory restrictions on Chinese companies and will firmly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies.”

The Justice Department said the platforms were run by a China-based firm, the Nanjing Xinjiuwei Network Technology Company, whose clients it said included China’s civilian intelligence agency, the State Security Ministry, and its military, the People’s Liberation........

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