The US Justice Department has charged five Chinese residents and two Malaysian businessmen over a wide-ranging hacking effort that allegedly targeted everything from video games to pro-democracy activists.Two Malaysian businessmen were charged with conspiring with two of the digital spiesFederal prosecutors said the Chinese nationals have been charged with hacking more than 100 companies in the United States and abroad.
US officials stopped short of alleging the hackers were working on behalf of Beijing, but in a statement Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen expressed exasperation with Chinese authorities, claiming they were — at the very least — turning a blind eye to cyber-espionage. "No responsible government knowingly shelters cyber criminals that target victims worldwide in acts of rank theft," Mr Rosen said.