Chinese national charged after entering Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort carrying 'malicious software'

ronjor · Apr 2, 2019

Dan Mangan Kevin Breuninger 02 Apr 2019

A Chinese woman has been charged with making a false statement to the U.S. Secret Service after entering President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida with a thumb drive that contained "malicious software," court documents revealed Tuesday.
A criminal complaint says the woman, Yujing Zhang, was on the property on Saturday, at around 12:15 p.m., while Trump was playing golf at the Trump International course nearby.
Zhang later claimed to the Secret Service that she was at the resort to attend a "United Nations Friendship Event" between China and the United States, the complaint said. That event did not exist, according to the complaint.
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EASTER · Apr 2, 2019

Ah. Was wondering when this uh hem, breaking news story would top the page here.
If this isn't a weird one what is? Contents of the personal items being electronic devices and a thumb drive with our forum's top subject matter most days-weeks-years

Whatever in the world was it to be plugged into? And was it already a malware hacked USB setup in advance?

Oh the drama

guest · Apr 8, 2019

Thumb drive carried by Mar-a-Lago intruder immediately installed files on a PC
The already suspicious breach of Secret Service security just got even more fishy
April 9, 2019
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy...sort-had-hidden-camera-detector-8000-in-cash/

The already suspicious account of a Chinese national who allegedly carried four cellphones, a thumb drive containing malware, and other electronics as she breached security at President Trump's private Florida club just grew even more fishy.

According to testimony presented Monday, Yujing Zhang's hotel room had a signal detector and additional suspicious possessions in it. The malware she carried may have been able to infect computers as soon as it was plugged into a computer.
The details came to light at a bond hearing on Monday in a Florida federal court. There, a Secret Service agent testified that the malware Zhang carried was capable of infecting a computer as soon as the thumb drive was plugged in. According to a report published Monday by the Miami Herald:

The New York Times described the Secret Service's thumb drive analysis slightly differently. According to this report: [...]
"She lies to everyone she encounters," prosecutor Rolando Garcia told the court, according to CNN.
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guest · Apr 21, 2019

Was it a Chinese spy or confused tourist?
April 21, 2019
https://blog.erratasec.com/2019/04/was-it-chinese-spy-or-confused-tourist.html

The part that has gotten the most press is that she had a USB drive with evil malware. We've belittled the Secret Service agents who infected themselves, and we've used this as the most important reason to suspect she was a spy.
But it's nonsense.

What the Secret Service reported was that it "started installing software". That's a symptom of a USB device installing drivers, not malware.
Visual "installing files" is not a symptom of malware. When malware does its job right, there are no symptoms. It installs invisibly in the background. Thats the entire point of malware, that you don't know it's there.

Normal travelers may be concerned about hidden cameras. Thus, the "hidden camera detector" sounds to me more like a paranoid traveler than a spy.
[...] So in conclusion, we don't see evidence pointing to a spy. Instead, we see a careful curation of evidence by the secret service and reporters to push the spying story. We haven't seen any reporter question what other USB devices can cause software to load other than malware. She may be a spy, of course, but so far, there's no evidence of anything other than a confused/crazy tourist.
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guest · Sep 12, 2019

Chinese Woman Guilty of Trespassing at Trump's Mar-a-Lago
September 12, 2019
https://www.securityweek.com/chinese-woman-guilty-trespassing-trumps-mar-lago

A Chinese woman who stirred fears of espionage when she entered President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort carrying multiple mobile phones and a malware-spiked thumb drive was found guilty of trespassing and lying in a Florida court Wednesday.

Zhang Yujing, 33, was arrested on March 30 at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, where Trump was on one of his frequent visits, first presenting herself as a club member and saying she was headed to the pool -- despite not having a swimsuit.
Zhang will be sentenced on November 22.
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guest · Nov 26, 2019

Chinese woman sentenced to 8 months for trespass at Trump resort: report
November 25, 2019
https://www.msn.com/en-xl/northamer...or-trespass-at-trump-resort-report/ar-BBXkL0R

A Chinese woman who stirred fears of espionage when she entered President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort carrying multiple mobile phones and a malware-spiked thumb drive was sentenced to eight months in prison Monday, US media reported.
Zhang Yujing, 33, was arrested on March 30 at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, where Trump was on one of his frequent visits.

The judge also ordered that Zhang be turned over to immigration officials for deportation upon her release.
Zhang, who has been jailed since her arrest, received eight months' credit for her time already spent in prison and only has about one more week to serve, the Herald added.
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Chinese national charged after entering Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort carrying 'malicious software'

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