The Mystery of ‘Jia Tan,
’ the XZ Backdoor Mastermind
By Andy Greenberg, Matt Burgess
Published: 2024-04-03 · Archived: 2026-04-05 18:07:00 UTC
The thwarted XZ Utils supply chain attack was years in the making. Now, clues suggest nation-state hackers were
behind the persona that inserted the malicious code.
Photograph: Henrik Sorensen/Getty Images
The scourge of software supply chain attacks—an increasingly common hacking technique that hides malicious
code in a widely used legitimate program—can take many forms. Hackers can penetrate an update server to seed
out their malware, or even break into the network where the software was developed to corrupt it at the source. Or,
in the case of one particularly insidious software supply chain attacker known as Jia Tan, they can spend two years
politely and enthusiastically volunteering to help.
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Andy Greenberg is a senior writer for WIRED covering hacking, cybersecurity, and surveillance. He’s the author
of the books Tracers in the Dark: The Global Hunt for the Crime Lords of Cryptocurrency and Sandworm: A New
Era of Cyberwar and the Hunt for the Kremlin's Most Dangerous Hackers. His books ... Read More
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Matt Burgess is a senior writer at WIRED focused on information security, privacy, and data regulation in Europe.
He graduated from the University of Sheffield with a degree in journalism and now lives in London. Send tips to
Matt_Burgess@wired.com. ... Read More
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