Photo: NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP/Getty Images
The technology company Microsoft and a United States Intelligence agency denounced that an organization, sponsored by the Chinese government, is carrying out a espionage and hacking campaign to “critical infrastructure” of the country.
In a statement, the tech giant said the Chinese organization known as “Volt Typhoon” has been active since mid-2021 and has targeted critical infrastructure organizations on Guam and elsewhere in the United States.
According to the complaint, Affected organizations span the communications, manufacturing, utilities, transportation, construction, maritime, government, information technology, and education sectors.
⚠️ Microsoft says it discovered a Chinese government hacking group targeted sensitive telecommunications providers around the US to install code that could disrupt critical communications infrastructure https://t.co/KXrytI5dKr
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) May 24, 2023
In parallel to Microsoft, the National Security Agency (NSA) confirmed the incursion and assured that, “An agent, sponsored by China, and who lives outside the territory (of the United States), is using tools integrated into the networks to evade our defenses. and leave no trace.”
The tech giant described that while espionage appears to be the goal for now, it does not rule out a more sinister purpose, such as disrupting critical communications infrastructure between the United States and the Asian region during future crises.
The first signs of compromise emerged in the telecommunications networks in Guam, a US territory since 1898, which is in a strategic location in the western Pacific and a naval and air base is located there, where a total of 6,000 soldiers are deployed and controlled by 40% of the territory.
According to the New York Times before the publication of the findings. The National Security Agency discovered those intrusions around the same time that the Chinese spy balloon was making headlines for entering the country’s airspace. He then called in Microsoft to investigate further, eventually uncovering a wide web of compromises across multiple sectors, with a particular focus on air, communications, maritime, and land transportation targets.
According to Rob Joyce, director of cybersecurity for the NSA, the agency is working with the governments of Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, as well as the FBI to identify other potential cyberattacks of this type.
With information from EFE.
Keep reading:
• How China promotes the influence of the yuan in Latin America in the midst of its global fight with the United States
• Lula asks that a cold war between China and the United States not arise again
• “China violates our airspace every day”: Japan’s nervousness about being on the front line in an intense conflict