- Chinese citizen accused of massive phishing campaign
- NASA, the military, universities and private companies were the target
- The author stole restricted defense software
NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) has released a report detailing an intricate campaign to steal export-restricted software orchestrated by a Chinese national.
The campaign targeted engineers at NASA, the Air Force, the Navy, the Army, and the Federal Aviation Administration, as well as major universities and private companies.
Posing as a colleague or friend, the perpetrator managed to convince dozens of professors, researchers and engineers to share confidential defense software and code for almost five years.
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federal order issued
The Chinese national, identified as Song Wu, was investigated by the Cyber Crimes Division (CCD) Investigations Office after receiving an alert that emails were being received from a Gmail account claiming to be an aerospace professor who had collaborated with NASA.
Song Wu’s phishing campaign began in January 2017 and ended in December 2021, during which time he contacted employees at NASA, the Air Force, the Navy, the Army, the Federal Aviation Administration, and employees at numerous universities and private companies.
According to the CCD, Song Wu and unidentified accomplices would rigorously investigate their targets and then pose as a friend or colleague requesting access to copies or source code of modeling software used for aerospace design and weapons development.
Because the software was defense-related, it was subject to export controls that were unknowingly violated when the victims fell for Song Wu’s deception.
A federal warrant has been issued for Song Wu’s arrest, and he has been charged with 14 counts of wire fraud and 14 counts of aggravated identity theft, but he remains at large, according to the NASA report.
“Cases like this underscore the importance of complying with export controls and remaining vigilant, even during daily email exchanges,” said Ryan Pittman, CCD Special Agent in Charge. “At NASA OIG, our job is to protect the Agency’s cutting-edge technology and expose cybercriminals who try to steal it.”
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