Arrivederci: European Ally Extradites CCP-Controlled Super-Hacker to US to Face Long Arm of the Law

An alleged Chinese hacker who targeted our education institutions and health research labs was given the boot by Italy and has been extradited to Texas to face the long arm of the U.S. legal system, law enforcement authorities announced Monday.

What makes the case more serious is that this isn’t some teen in the basement in his underwear fooling around on the interwebs — this guy worked at the behest of the Chinese Communist Party.

The FBI’s Cyber Division made the announcement on social media Monday:

🚨 Today the @FBI and @TheJusticeDept announced the extradition of Xu Zewei, a prolific contract hacker alleged to have worked on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party. Xu is accused of participating in the HAFNIUM #cyber espionage group, which conducted a vast campaign directed… pic.twitter.com/3DBcdzCMmG
— FBI Cyber Division (@FBICyberDiv) April 27, 2026

The tweet revealed that the suspect, Xu Zewei, engaged in a “vast” campaign against our cybersphere:

🚨 Today the @FBI and @TheJusticeDept announced the extradition of Xu Zewei, a prolific contract hacker alleged to have worked on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party. Xu is accused of participating in the HAFNIUM #cyber espionage group, which conducted a vast campaign directed by China’s Ministry of State Security that compromised thousands of U.S. organizations.
In a separate campaign, Xu and his co-conspirators are also alleged to have targeted U.S.-based universities, immunologists, and virologists—once again under the supervision and direction of CCP intelligence officers.
The #FBI is grateful to Italian law enforcement, especially the Polizia Postale, whose partnership was critical to securing Xu’s arrest and extradition. 🔗 https://justice.gov/opa/pr/prolific-chinese-state-sponsored-contract-hacker-extradited-italy

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Xu had been arrested in Milan in July 2025 for suspected identity theft, wire fraud, and cyber‑espionage between February 2020 and June 2021. Although our European allies have been less than helpful with Operation Epic Fury and the conflict in Iran, the Repubblica Italiana stepped up to the plate on this one, according to the DOJ.

Xu apparently had an interest in our country’s COVID research:

Xu Zewei (徐泽伟), 34, of the People’s Republic of China was extradited to the United States this weekend and appeared today in U.S. District Court in Houston on a nine-count indictment related to his involvement in computer intrusions between February 2020 and June 2021. Certain of those computer intrusions allegedly are part of the HAFNIUM computer intrusion campaign that compromised thousands of computers worldwide, including in the United States. Other intrusions targeted U.S. COVID-19 research during the height of the pandemic. Xu is charged along with Zhang Yu (张宇), 44, who is also a PRC national.

Estradato in Usa Zewei Xu, l’ingegnere cinese 33enne accusato dal Fbi di essere un hacker spia https://t.co/OIcPuG9Fy3 pic.twitter.com/S25IFNiUFZ
— Repubblica Milano (@rep_milano) April 26, 2026

The translation of the above post by Google:

Extradited to USA Zewei Xu, the 33-year-old Chinese engineer accused by the FBI of being a spy hacker

The DOJ’s statement directly accuses the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and its Ministry of State Security’s Shanghai State Security Bureau of directing Xu to hack away.

They, of course, are not happy about being busted:

A spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry ⁠on Monday said China opposed the U.S. "fabricating charges through political manipulation" and urged Italy to "respect facts and law, immediately correct its mistake" and avoid "becoming an accomplice of the U.S."

Yeah, sure, we trust you, CCP. Not. Meanwhile, Xu potentially faces decades in prison. They'd best keep him away from any keyboards.

Editor’s Note: The American people overwhelmingly support President Trump’s law and order agenda.

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