WASHINGTON — The Justice Department charged two Chinese nationals on Thursday in a worldwide hacking scheme to acquire business and military secrets in a campaign allegedly directed by the Chinese Communist Party.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said hackers from a group referred to as Advanced Persistent Threat 10, or APT 10, stole information from more than 45 businesses in the U.S. in coordination with China's state security service, CNN Business reported.
According to the indictment, the hackers also targeted U.S. military service members, stealing "sensitive data belonging to the Navy, including the names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, salary information, personal phone numbers and email addresses of more than 100,000 Navy personnel."
According to Rosenstein, the U.S. coordinated with 11 other countries: Brazil, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, India, Japan, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom.

According to the indictment, the hackers worked for a company with ties to the Chinese government.
The two are accused of attacks from 2006 to 2018. The charges include aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
The charges come amid rising trade tensions between the U.S. and China.