According to the Wall Street Journal, the deceptive message, purporting to come from Representative John Moolenaar, was dispatched in July to multiple U.S. trade groups, prominent law firms and government agencies.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 7 (Reuters) – U.S. authorities have launched an investigation into a sophisticated malware-laden email that appears to have been crafted to glean intelligence on the Trump administration’s sensitive trade negotiations with Beijing.
The malware embedded within the fake email has been traced by cybersecurity analysts to APT41, a hacking group believed to operate on behalf of Chinese intelligence.
APT41 is the same advanced persistent threat actor long suspected of targeting global industries to further China’s strategic objectives.
The malware in question was disguised as draft legislation and included a request for recipients to review “proposed legislation” – a ruse intended to lure users into executing the malicious code.
If opened, the attachment would have granted the attackers extensive access to internal communications and documents of the targeted organizations.
Representative Moolenaar, a leading critic of Beijing’s trade and security practices and chairman of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party, confirmed the malicious outreach.
“This is yet another example of the Chinese Communist Party using cyber operations to steal U.S. strategy and influence policy,” he said in a statement to the Journal. “We will not be intimidated and will continue to expose these malign actions.”
The first of these malware-laden emails was sent just days before high-level U.S.-China trade talks in Stockholm aimed at extending a tariff truce through early November.
Those discussions, which followed a summit between President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping in July, resulted in a 90-day extension of the ongoing tariff ceasefire.
According to individuals familiar with the matter, the hackers sought intelligence on the administration’s legislative proposals and negotiating positions in hopes of gaining an upper hand in future rounds of dialogue.
The U.S. Capitol Police have confirmed they are investigating the incident, although they declined further comment when approached by Reuters.
The FBI, which is collaborating with federal partners, acknowledged it is “aware of the situation” and is actively seeking to identify and hold accountable those responsible.
In response to the Journal’s reporting, the Chinese Embassy in Washington issued an emailed statement denying any awareness of the specific cyberattack.
“All countries face cyber threats that are difficult to trace,” the embassy said. “China firmly opposes and combats all forms of cyberattacks and cybercrime. We also firmly oppose smearing others without solid evidence.”
While it remains unclear whether the malware successfully compromised any networks, sources told the Journal that staffers on Moolenaar’s committee began fielding puzzling inquiries from outside parties, prompting a closer look at the email’s origins and payload.
Cybersecurity experts warn that APT41 often uses legitimate-looking communications from trusted figures to bypass email filters and sow confusion among recipients.
Impact on U.S.–China Trade Talks
The FBI has advised organizations engaged in high-level trade or foreign policy discussions to exercise heightened caution when opening unsolicited attachments, even if they appear to originate from known contacts.
Industry officials say corporate and legal entities working with the government are especially at risk due to their proximity to policymaking and sensitive economic data.
This incident underscores the growing intensity of cyber operations linked to nation-state actors seeking to influence or undermine diplomatic efforts between the United States and other global powers.
As trade negotiations with China continue to shape global markets and strategic alliances, securing digital channels against covert intrusion has become a top priority for U.S. national security agencies.
Reporting by Jonathan Landay and Jasper Ward in Washington; Editing by Ross Colvin, Matthew Lewis and Jamie Freed.
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