The three were associated with Guangdong-based Guangzhou Boyu Information Technology Company, known as Boyusec. The indictment named Boyusec co-founder Wu Yingzhuo, executive director Dong Hao, and Xia Lei, an employee.

It said they hacked the email server of Moody's Analytics in 2011, obtaining access to the emails of someone described as a high-profile economist who represented the company’s brand -- a description that matches Moody's chief economist Mark Zandi. Moody's did not confirm or deny that, but said it had worked closely with the investigation, and had not lost any customer or employee data to hackers.