China denies Equifax hack after Justice Department charged four military hackers

The US Justice Department on Monday charged four members of China's People's Liberation Army in connection with the Equifax hack, one of the largest data breaches in US history. 

The four alleged Chinese military hackers are listed as Wu Zhiyong, Wang Qian, Xu Ke and Liu Lei, according to the indictment. They are charged with computer fraud, economic espionage and wire fraud. 

"This is the largest theft of sensitive [personally identifiable information] by state-sponsored hackers ever recorded," FBI deputy director David Bowdich said at a press conference on Monday. 

The Chinese embassy denied that its government was behind the Equifax hack, and called out the US government for its history of hacking other nations for espionage, including China. 

"The Chinese government, military and relevant personnel never engage in cyber theft of trade secrets," China's foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said on Tuesday. "It has long been an open secret that the US government and relevant departments, in violation of international law and basic norms governing international relations, have been engaging in large-scale, organized and indiscriminate cyber stealing, spying and surveillance activities on foreign governments, enterprises and individuals."