A Chinese national has been charged in the U.S. with hacking into American universities’ computer systems to steal sensitive COVID-19 research, in what authorities describe as a coordinated operation directed by China’s intelligence agency.

Xu Zewei, who was arrested last week in Italy, faces a nine-count indictment in the Southern District of Texas. Prosecutors say Xu and fellow Chinese national Zhang Yu infiltrated networks belonging to US universities, immunologists, and virologists between February 2020 and June 2021.

Xu is awaiting extradition to the US while Zhang remains at large.

“The hacking of these American universities is not just a violation of intellectual property rights. It’s an attack on American scientific innovation,” Nicholas J. Ganjei, the Houston-based US Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, said at a news conference.

Authorities declined to name the universities that had been targeted but said two were located in the Southern District of Texas.

Authorities allege that officers of China’s Ministry of State Security, or MSS, directed Xu and others to conduct the hacking. A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment.

Authorities allege Xu and Zhang were part of a group known as HAFNIUM, that targeted over 60,000 US entities, successfully victimizing more than 12,700 in order to steal sensitive information. One of those targeted was a law firm with offices worldwide, including in Washington, D.C.

The charges against Xu include wire fraud, obtaining information by unauthorized access to protected computers and aggravated identity theft. The wire fraud charges carry sentences of up to 20 years in prison.

Tuesday’s announcement comes after the Justice Department earlier this month said two Chinese nationals had been charged with spying inside the United States on behalf of Beijing, including by taking photographs of a naval base.

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With inputs from Associated Press