“The Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit (DCU) has disrupted the activities of a China-based hacking group that we call Nickel. In documents that were unsealed today, a federal court in Virginia has granted our request to seize websites Nickel was using to attack organizations in the United States and 28 other countries around the world, enabling us to cut off Nickel’s access to its victims and prevent the websites from being used to execute attacks,” Burt said on Monday.

The disruption will not prevent Nickel from continuing other hacking activities, Burt said, noting that Microsoft believes they have removed a key piece of the group’s infrastructure.

Burt pointed out that Microsoft believes the attacks being executed by Nickel were being used for intelligence gathering for government agencies, think tanks and human rights organizations. They have targeted public and private organizations around the world, including diplomatic organizations and ministries, and attacks often correlate with China’s geopolitical interests, Burt added.