Chinese hackers stole more than $20 million in COVID-19 relief funds and unemployment benefits: Secret Service

Chinese government-affiliated hackers stole more than $20 million in COVID-19 relief funds dedicated to small businesses and unemployment benefits, the Secret Service revealed.

The theft was discovered as part of a larger investigation in which $286 million was recovered in August, traced back to 15,000 fake accounts created at a Texas bank. Approximately $87 billion in Economic Injury Disaster Loans have gone missing since the federal program was formed in the COVID-19 pandemic's early stages.

This latest development identifies a hacking group called APT41 as the culprit, a “Chinese state-sponsored, cyberthreat group that is...