• US officials amended earlier statements regarding Chinese hackers' activities against government agencies.
• The Department of Justice clarified that agencies like NASA and the Senate were targets but not successfully breached.
• Recent clarifications narrow the scope of confirmed breaches and highlight ongoing cybersecurity concerns.

U.S. officials have reversed previous claims stating that several government agencies, including the Senate and NASA, were hacked by Chinese spies. In a revised statement from the Justice Department on August 28, it was emphasized that these agencies were only targets, not victims of successful cyberattacks, according to Reuters and Al Jazeera.

This correction comes after an initial statement suggested that these agencies were among the hackers' victims, misleadingly amplifying concerns about breaches. The new statement clarifies the distinctions in terminology, narrowing the scope of confirmed breaches following an FBI affidavit that indicated various U.S. federal networks have been targeted since at least 2018, according to India Times and Al Jazeera.

According to the FBI, while attempted intrusions occurred, agencies like NASA managed to thwart the breach by patching vulnerable software. However, multiple successful intrusions attributed to the Chinese hacking group QTFY were recorded at various U.S. Department of Energy facilities and other sensitive locations, as noted in both the Justice Department's and FBI's statements, according to Reuters and India Times.

In addition to clarifying the targeting misstatement, the Justice Department announced the seizure of two domains used by QTFY, aiming to disrupt the network responsible for these cyber threats. The seizure of these domains, necessary for communication and malware functionality, reflects ongoing efforts to counter cyber intrusions from state-sponsored actors, according to India Times and Al Jazeera.