The person at the center of this case
Six American companies targeted in computer espionage conspiracy
Cold Case · Open
12 years waiting · since 2014
HUANG ZHENYU
Justice for Six American companies targeted in computer espionage conspiracy — the trail went cold in 2014, but the truth hasn't.
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Key leads to think about
🎯
suspect
Lead #1What is Huang Zhenyu's current location and has he been apprehended or extradited?
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evidence
Lead #2What specific trade secrets and proprietary information were successfully stolen from the six targeted American companies?
👤
person
Lead #3Who were the four co-conspirators indicted alongside Huang and what were their specific roles in the conspiracy?
On May 1, 2014, a federal grand jury in Pennsylvania indicted Huang Zhenyu and four other officers of China's People's Liberation Army for a sophisticated computer espionage conspiracy targeting six American companies. Huang, a computer programmer, allegedly managed domain accounts used by co-conspirators to steal proprietary information including trade secrets related to nuclear plant designs and confidential business communications. The case remains significant as a landmark prosecution of state-sponsored cyber espionage, though Huang's current whereabouts and apprehension status remain unclear.
Case
#632
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Pennsylvania
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More leads to consider
Beyond the top three above — each detail below could be the thread that pulls this case open.
💡
clue
Lead #4How did the domain accounts managed by Huang facilitate the other conspirators' unauthorized access to American company networks?
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Even the smallest detail could be the key to solving this case.
Official wording
Source Narrative
Conspiring to Commit Computer Fraud; Accessing a Computer Without Authorization for the Purpose of Commercial Advantage and Private Financial Gain; Damaging Computers Through the Transmission of Code and Commands; Aggravated Identity Theft; Economic Espionage; Theft of Trade Secrets Caution: On May 1, 2014, a grand jury in the Western District of Pennsylvania indicted five members of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) for 31 criminal counts, including: conspiring to commit computer fraud; accessing a computer without authorization for the purpose of commercial advantage and private financial gain; damaging computers through the transmission of code and commands; aggravated identity theft; economic espionage; and theft of trade secrets. The subjects, including Huang Zhenyu, were officers of the PRC’s Third Department of the General Staff Department of the People’s Liberation Army (3PLA), Second Bureau, Third Office, Military Unit Cover Designator (MUCD) 61398, at some point during the investigation.
The activities executed by each of these individuals allegedly involved in the conspiracy varied according to his specialties. Each provided his individual expertise to an alleged conspiracy to penetrate the computer networks of six American companies while those companies were engaged in negotiations or joint ventures or were pursuing legal action with, or against, state-owned enterprises in China.
They then used their illegal access to allegedly steal proprietary information including, for instance, e-mail exchanges among company employees and trade secrets related to technical specifications for nuclear plant designs. Huang was a computer programmer who managed the domain accounts used by the others.
Timeline of Events
🕵️
2014-05-01
Federal Grand Jury Indictment
Grand jury in Western District of Pennsylvania indicted Huang Zhenyu and four PLA officers on 31 criminal counts including computer fraud, unauthorized computer access, identity theft, economic espionage, and theft of trade secrets.
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Case Information
Incident:May 1, 2014
Last Updated:May 11, 2026
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Case Information
Incident:May 1, 2014
Last Updated:May 11, 2026