FBI Investigates Chinese Hackers Targeting Major US Law Firms in Sophisticated Cyber Campaign

Williams & Connolly has confirmed that unauthorized access occurred within some of their computer systems.

Washington:

The FBI's Washington field office is currently investigating a series of alleged cyber intrusions targeting prestigious American law firms by suspected Chinese hackers, according to a Tuesday report from the New York Times, which cites two individuals familiar with the investigation.

Williams & Connolly, one of the affected firms, confirmed to Reuters that hackers had successfully penetrated certain computer systems within their organization, though they did not specifically attribute the attack to Chinese actors.

The firm stated that a limited number of attorney email accounts were compromised "through exploitation of a zero-day vulnerability."

Williams & Connolly emphasized, "It's important to note that no evidence suggests confidential client information was extracted from other segments of our IT infrastructure, including the databases where client files are maintained."

The firm reported implementing countermeasures to address the security threat and confirmed there is no indication of ongoing unauthorized network activity.

Both the FBI and the Chinese embassy in Washington did not provide immediate responses to requests for comment on the matter.

American officials have consistently raised concerns about hacking activities linked to China over many years, claiming that numerous attacks focus on misappropriating intellectual property belonging to US companies.