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1 1 (March 4, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/goveavf0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional ______ SResearch Service lnformrng the Iegisiative debate since 1914___________________ Red Army Equifax Hackers Indicted March 4, 2020 A federal grand jury has indicted four members of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) for hacking into the Equifax computer system and stealing the personal identifying information of nearly 150 million Americans. The indictments charge offenses under federal wire fraud, computer intrusion, economic espionage, and conspiracy laws. Attorney General Barr's statement announcing the indictment noted that 80% of federal economic espionage prosecutions have implicated the Chinese government. The indictment presents a partial view of the criminal law consequences that may attend a mass data breach, but the indictment is likely designed for purposes other than eventual prosecution. Background Equifax conducts credit checks on behalf of financial institutions and other business entities. The indictment and an earlier House committee majority staff report allege that the four defendants accessed an Equifax server in Georgia through a system backdoor. Once in, they spent several weeks sweeping the system for the names, addresses, birth dates, social security numbers, and driver's license numbers of millions of individuals. Equifax eventually discovered the breach, patched the hole, and notified authorities and the public. Equifax has agreed to pay more than $5.75 million to settle claims relating to the data breach. Statutes The indictment charges violations of four of the criminal laws designed to protect against computer intrusions (alternatively known as hacking or unauthorized access) and other forms of data breach: the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA); the Economic Espionage Act; the Wire Fraud Act; and the conspiracy statute. (For a discussion of these and other statutes that protect against such intrusions (CRS Report R45631). The CFAA outlaws seven computer hacking offenses, ranging from simple trespassing to espionage (CRS Report 97-1025). One offense covers intrusions that involve stealing information from a protected computer system. Protected computer means any computer connected to the Internet (computer ... which is used in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce or communication). The offense is a five- year felony if the information is worth $5,000 or more or if the intrusion is committed with an eye to another state or federal crime. The Chinese army defendants allegedly acted as accomplices for colleagues who hacked into an Equifax computer and bundled up masses of personal information worth more than $5,000 to support an economic espionage operation. Accomplices (aiders and abettors) share liability equally with those who actually commit the crime. (CRS Report R43769). The indictment also Congressional Research Service https://crsreports. congress.gov LSB10417 CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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