Chinese hackers target NASA and key US agencies, DOJ alleges

Some cyberattacks start with a suspicious email.

Others begin somewhere you would probably never think to look.

It could be an old router in someone's home.

Maybe it is a forgotten security camera that still connects to the internet.

Hackers can compromise vulnerable connected devices and use them to disguise where an attack really comes from.

That tactic played a role in a China-linked hacking operation that U.S. authorities say took aim at some of America's most sensitive networks.

On Aug.

26, the Justice Department and FBI confirmed intrusion attempts since 2018 against NASA , the Federal Reserve, the Justice Department and the U.S.

Senate.

Other targets included the Department of Energy, Department of Health and Human Services and National Institutes of Health.

Four unnamed companies in the United States and South Korea were reportedly targeted as well.

The names behind the operation sound like something from an IT department: QScan and QTRouter.

Yet what these tools allegedly did should get your attention.

Here is how the hacking operation worked, how authorities shut it down and what you can do to keep your own connected devices from becoming part of an attacker's network.