Chinese national indicted in COVID-era hacking scheme extradited

(The Center Square) – A years-long effort has resulted in the extradition of a Chinese national facing multiple espionage charges in Houston. Chinese national Xu Zewei was extradited to the U.S. from Italy over the weekend and appeared before a federal judge in Houston on Monday. He faces a nine-count indictment for his role in a People’s Republic of China HAFNIUM computer intrusion campaign targeting U.S. companies, which also compromised thousands of computers worldwide, according to the Office of U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas. Zewei was taken into custody in Milan, Italy, last July at the request of U.S. authorities, The Center Square reported. He and PRC national Zhang Yu were both indicted in 2023; Yu remains at large. The two are accused of being involved in a hacking scheme from February 2020 through June 2021 directed by the PRC’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) Shanghai State Security Bureau (S