US warns China could hack infrastructure, rail systems
The Chinese govt has rejected assertions that its spies are going ater Western targets, calling the warning issued by the United States and its allies a ‘collective disinformation campaign’
The US State Department warned that China was capable of launching cyber atacks against critical infrastructure, including oil and gas pipelines and rail systems, ater researchers discovered a Chinese hacking group had been spying on such networks.
A multi-nation alert issued on Wednesday revealed the Chinese cyber-espionage campaign hadbeenaimedatmilitaryandgovernmenttargets in the United States.
Thechinesegovernmenthasrejectedassertions that its spies are going ater Western targets, calling the warning issued by the United States and its allies a “collective disinformation campaign.”
US officials said they were still in the process of geting their arms around the threat.
“We’ve had at least one location that we didn’t know about since the hunt guide was released come forward with data and information,” Rob Joyce, the US National Security Agency’s (NSA) cybersecurity director, told Reuters.
The agency disclosed technical details earlier to help critical service providers detect the spying.
The US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) separately said it was working to understand “the breadth of potential intrusions and associated impacts.”
That would help it “provide assistance where needed, and more effectively understand the tactics undertaken by this adversary,” CISA’S executive assistant director, Eric Goldstein, told Reuters.
Part of the challenge in defending against this espionage work is that it’s more covert than regular spy operations, according to researchers and officials.
“In these cases the adversary is oten using legitimate credentials and legitimate network administration tools to gain access to execute their objectives on a target network,” Goldstein said. “Many traditional methods of detection, such as antivirus, will not find these intrusions.”
Microsot analysts who identified the campaign, which they dubbed Volt Typhoon, said it “could disrupt critical communications infrastructure between the United States and Asia region during future crises” - a nod to escalating Us-china tensions over Taiwan and other issues.
“The US intelligence community assesses that China almost certainly is capable of launching cyberatacks that could disrupt critical infrastructure services within the United States, including against oil and gas pipelines and rail systems,” State Department spokesperson Mathew Miller said in a press briefing. “It’s vital for government and network defenders in the public to stay vigilant.”
US agencies have been pushing for improved cybersecurity practices in its majority-privately held critical infrastructure industry, ater the 2021 hack of the key Colonial Pipeline disrupted nearly half of the US East Coast’s fuel supply.
Intelligenceagenciesintheunitedstates,britain and their close allies issued an alert Wednesday to warn about Volt Typhoon.
Microsot said the group had targeted critical infrastructure organisations in the US Pacific territory of Guam, and it was using the security firm Fortinet’s Fortiguard devices to break into target’s networks.
Researcher Marc Burnard, whose organisation Secureworks has dealt with several intrusions tied to Volt Typhoon, said Secureworks had seen no evidence of destructive activity by Volt Typhoon, but that its hackers were focused on stealing information that would “shed light on US military activities.” NSA’S Joyce said there was no doubt Volt Typhoon was puting itself in position to carry out disruptive atacks.
“It’s clear that some of the entities on here are of no intelligence value,” he told Reuters of the critical infrastructure sites identified by the government.
Chineseforeignministryspokespersonmaoning told reporters that the alerts issued by the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand were intended to promote their intelligence alliance - known as the Five Eyes - and it was Washington that was guilty of hacking.
“The United States is the empire of hacking,” Mao said.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping in March accused Washington of trying to hold back China’s development ater the US government blocked access to technology to manufacture advanced processor chips, hampering the ruling Communist Party’s efforts to develop its own semiconductor producers for smartphones, artificial intelligence and other advanced applications.