FBI extradites Chinese hacker accused of stealing COVID-19 research
The FBI has extradited Xu Zewei, a Chinese national accused of being a state-sponsored hacker, to the United States to face charges related to cyberattacks on American institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic. He is alleged to have stolen sensitive research on vaccines and treatments in coordination with China's Ministry of State Security. Xu now faces multiple federal charges, including wire fraud and unauthorized access to protected computers.
- ▪Xu Zewei was extradited to the U.S. from Italy and will face federal charges.
- ▪He is accused of hacking U.S. universities and researchers conducting COVID-19 studies in 2020 and 2021.
- ▪The Justice Department alleges that officers from China's Ministry of State Security directed Xu's hacking activities.
- ▪Xu is facing nine charges, including wire fraud, unauthorized computer access, and aggravated identity theft.
- ▪FBI Director Kash Patel called the extradition a 'historic win' for U.S. cybersecurity efforts.
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| Original publisher | Fox News |
| Canonical URL | https://www.foxnews.com/us/fbi-extradites-chinese-hacker-accused-stealing-covid-19-research |
| Publication time | Tue, 28 Apr 2026 14:00:01 -0400 |
| Retrieval time | 2026-04-28T18:07:19.501Z |
| Last seen | 2026-04-28T18:07:19.501Z |
| Headline source | Publisher (no WeSearch rewrite) |
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| Summary | WeSearch · cerebras-chat (WeSearch summarizer) |
| Summary source text | contentText |
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| Cluster | KokcOA6AZqkc |
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| Publisher visit | Yes — open original |
| Substitutes article? | No — link-out required for full text |
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| Commercial reuse | May the content be reused commercially? | Not permitted |
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Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Cybercrime FBI extradites Chinese hacker accused of stealing COVID-19 research Xu Zewei's capture is 'historic win for our cybersecurity efforts under President Trump,' Kash Patel says By Greg Norman-Diamond Fox News Published April 28, 2026 2:00pm EDT Facebook Twitter Threads Flipboard Comments Print Email Add Fox News on Google close Video The Role of China in the Iran war Paul Gigot interviews military analyst Seth Jones. NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! A Chinese hacker accused of stealing COVID-19 research from U.S. institutions in a massive cyberattack has been extradited to American soil.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Fox News.
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