In a bold move, Italy is planning to send a ‘wanted’ Chinese hacker to US authorities.
The Italian government has decided to extradite a Chinese man wanted by US authorities on hacking charges, including the theft of COVID-19 medical research, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
Government decision, information about which was given first Bloomberg, Xu Zewei could be extradited following an Italian court ruling earlier this month.
A representative of the Italian government declined to comment. Xu’s lawyer Enrico Giarda told Reuters his client had not yet received any communication on the case.
Xu was arrested in Milan on July 3 at the request of US authorities, who charged him with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft for his alleged role in computer theft activities that occurred between February 2020 and June 2021.
After his arrest, Xu’s lawyer said that his client was a victim of mistaken identity.
The US Justice Department DOJ alleges Xu is hacking and stealing critical COVID-19 research at the behest of the Chinese government.
Xu was part of a team of cyber experts who in 2020 targeted US-based universities, immunologists and virologists who were researching COVID‑19 vaccines, treatments and testing.
Additionally, the DOJ also alleged that in 2021, Xu was part of a cyber-espionage group called Hafnium, which infiltrated thousands of computers around the world, including the US.
