Chinese officials admitted to conducting cyber attacks on US infrastructure in an operation called " Volt Typhoon ", according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. This came at a private meeting held between the US and Chinese officials last year in Geneva.
According to the report, Chinese officials made remarks during the meeting that were "indirect and somewhat ambiguous", but the US delegation interpreted them as implying that the Volt Typhoon cyberattacks were a response to American support for Taiwan.
This signaled a shift from China’s typical approach of outright denial, where it would usually blame such attacks on criminal organizations or dismiss them as overblown allegations.
The report comes amidst deteriorating ties between the two nations with US increasing its tariff rates to 145% on China and the latter hitting back with 125% in retaliation.
What is Volt Typhoon?
The cyber campaign unleashed by China has been identified as Volt Typhoon. It was first flagged by security researchers and had already raised alarm among US officials last year.
Citing intelligence assessments, The Wall Street Journal reported that the operation was tied to China’s military and designed to infiltrate American systems, potentially laying the groundwork for rapid and damaging attacks in the event of a future conflict.
The cyberattacks employed zero-day vulnerabilities and advanced tactics to target critical US infrastructure. The campaign sparked serious concerns over potential espionage and the ability to disrupt essential services.
The threat actors infiltrated a broad range of sectors—including communications, energy, transportation, manufacturing, and government—and it was recently revealed that they maintained covert access to parts of the US electric grid for nearly 300 days in 2023.
Additionally, US officials and lawmakers have revealed that China is continuing to target American telecommunications networks through a separate cyber campaign dubbed Salt Typhoon , attributed to a different Chinese hacking group.
In contrast to the Volt Typhoon attacks, which America considers a serious provocation, the Salt Typhoon campaign is viewed more as standard cyberespionage—akin to the intelligence-gathering operations the US carries out against its own rivals.
According to the report, Chinese officials made remarks during the meeting that were "indirect and somewhat ambiguous", but the US delegation interpreted them as implying that the Volt Typhoon cyberattacks were a response to American support for Taiwan.
This signaled a shift from China’s typical approach of outright denial, where it would usually blame such attacks on criminal organizations or dismiss them as overblown allegations.
The report comes amidst deteriorating ties between the two nations with US increasing its tariff rates to 145% on China and the latter hitting back with 125% in retaliation.
What is Volt Typhoon?
The cyber campaign unleashed by China has been identified as Volt Typhoon. It was first flagged by security researchers and had already raised alarm among US officials last year.
Citing intelligence assessments, The Wall Street Journal reported that the operation was tied to China’s military and designed to infiltrate American systems, potentially laying the groundwork for rapid and damaging attacks in the event of a future conflict.
The cyberattacks employed zero-day vulnerabilities and advanced tactics to target critical US infrastructure. The campaign sparked serious concerns over potential espionage and the ability to disrupt essential services.
The threat actors infiltrated a broad range of sectors—including communications, energy, transportation, manufacturing, and government—and it was recently revealed that they maintained covert access to parts of the US electric grid for nearly 300 days in 2023.
Additionally, US officials and lawmakers have revealed that China is continuing to target American telecommunications networks through a separate cyber campaign dubbed Salt Typhoon , attributed to a different Chinese hacking group.
In contrast to the Volt Typhoon attacks, which America considers a serious provocation, the Salt Typhoon campaign is viewed more as standard cyberespionage—akin to the intelligence-gathering operations the US carries out against its own rivals.
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