The US formally attributed intrusions such as the one that affected servers running Microsoft Exchange earlier this year to hackers affiliated with China's Ministry of State Security. Microsoft had already blamed China. US officials said the scope and scale of hacking attributed to China has surprised them, along with China's use of "criminal contract hackers." The US Department of Justice has charged four Chinese nationals - three security officials and one contract hacker - with targeting dozens of companies, universities and government agencies in the United States and abroad. While a flurry of statements from Western powers represent a broad alliance, cyber experts said the lack of consequences for China beyond the US indictment was conspicuous.
‘NZ in 'position of vulnerability' over China hacking accusations’, RNZ