WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department is indicting two Chinese nationals for hacking defense contractors, COVID researchers, and other companies worldwide.

In a court filing published Tuesday, U.S. authorities say that the Chinese nationals, Li Xiaoyu and Dong Jiazhi, participated in a multiyear cyberespionage campaign that stole weapons designs, drug information, software source code, and more.

The indictment alleges that hackers operated from 2014 to 2020 and most recently attempted to steal cancer research.

A message seeking comment from the Chinese Embassy in Washington was not immediately returned.