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#volttyphoon

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Though they avoided discussing threats to ISPs specifically, some of the top #US #cybersecurity ofcls at the recent #BlackHat & #DefCon #hacking conferences said #VoltTyphoon remained as active & successful as it was when ops were first ID’ed last yr.

The group’s emphasis on obtaining access for potential physical destruction “is nowhere near where the nations of the world behave” said ret Gen Paul Nakasone, who stepped down in Feb from posts running US #Cyber Com & the #NSA.

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In a separate report earlier this month, #security company #Volexity said it had found another high-end technique in play at a different, unnamed #ISP. In that case, it said a Chinese state #hacking group distinct from #VoltTyphoon was able to get far enough inside the service provider to alter #DNS web addresses that users were trying to reach & divert them elsewhere, allowing the #hackers to insert #backdoors for #espionage.
#InfoSec #Internet #tech #cybersecurity #China #US #geopolitics

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On Mon, the Santa Clara, CA-based company published a blog post about the problem, saying that it had issued a patch & that “impacted customers failed to implement system hardening & #firewall guidelines.”

#Lumen wrote that it located #malware inside #ISP routers serving certain groups or individual customers that could intercept passwords from those customers. Lumen said it believed the malicious #software was being used by #VoltTyphoon.

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Though there is no evidence that the new inroads are aimed at anything other than gathering #intelligence, some of the techniques & resources employed are associated w/those used in the past year by a #China-backed group known as #VoltTyphoon…. #US intelligence ofcls said that group sought access to equipment at Pacific #ports & other #infrastructure to enable China to sow #panic & #disrupt America’s ability to move #troops, #weaponry & supplies to #Taiwan if armed conflict breaks out.
#security

FBI chief says Chinese have infiltrated critical US infrastructure

Chinese government-linked hackers have burrowed into US critical infrastructure and are waiting “for just the right moment to deal a devastating blow”, the director of the FBI, Christopher Wray, has warned.

An ongoing Chinese hacking campaign known as #Volt #Typhoon has successfully gained access to numerous American companies in telecommunications, energy, water and other critical sectors, with 23 pipeline operators targeted, Wray said.
China is developing the “ability to physically wreak havoc on our #critical #infrastructure at a time of its choosing”, Wray said at the 2024 Vanderbilt summit on modern conflict and emerging threats.

He added: “Its plan is to land low blows against civilian infrastructure to try to induce #panic.”
Wray said it was difficult to determine the intent of this cyber pre-positioning, which was aligned with China’s broader intent to deter the US from defending Taiwan.
China claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the island under its control. Taiwan strongly objects to China’s sovereignty claims and says only the island’s people can decide their future.
Earlier this week, a Chinese ministry of foreign affairs (MFA) spokesperson said Volt Typhoon was in fact unrelated to China’s government, but was part of a criminal #ransomware group.
#VoltTyphoon #hacking

theguardian.com/world/2024/apr

The Guardian · FBI chief says Chinese hackers have infiltrated critical US infrastructureBy Guardian staff reporter

#FBI says they shut down #hacker group #VoltTyphoon who is accused of attacking #US infrastructure, like power grid and pipe lines.

BBC reports: bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-6816

BBC connects this to a warning issued last year by Microsoft, claiming Volt Typhoon had hacked into multiple US government email accounts.

BBC NewsFBI says Chinese state hacker group targeted US infrastructureChina is targeting US infrastructure and laying the groundwork to wreak chaos, the FBI director warns.