A hack that collected the information of 500 million Marriott hotel guests is now thought to be part of Chinese intelligence-gathering.
Two people briefed on the preliminary investigation told the New York Times that the Chinese efforts also hacked health insurers, other hotels, and gathered security clearance files of millions more Americans.
The hackers are suspected to have been working on behalf of the Ministry of State Security.
A senior official with knowledge of the plans said the Trump administration is considering an executive order that will make it more difficult for Chinese companies to obtain telecommunications equipment.
According to four different U.S. government officials with security clearances, the Department of Justice will be announcing new indictments against Chinese hackers who are working for intelligence and military services.
The Trump administration is also preparing to declassify intelligence that shows Chinese agents’ efforts to build a database that contained the names of executives and U.S. government officials, the four officials with security clearances told the Times.
The cyberattack, which happened at the end of November, is the largest breach to date and affects more people than the entire population of the U.S.
