A hacker organization believed to be linked to China has infiltrated military facilities, transportation networks, and communication networks in over 80 countries, according to an investigation report.
On the 27th (local time), Western agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released a 37-page technical report detailing the hacking attack commonly referred to as 'Salt Typhoon.' This pertains to operations conducted by 'advanced persistent threat (APT) actors' linked to the Chinese government.
According to the report, at least three actors affiliated with Chinese private cybersecurity corporations are known to have participated in this operation.
Specifically mentioned in the report are ▲Sichuan Juxin He Network Technology Co., Ltd. (四川聚信和网络科技有限公司), ▲Beijing Huanyu Tianqiong Information Technology Co., Ltd. (北京寰宇天穹信息技术有限公司), and ▲Sichuan Zhixin Ruijie Network Technology Co., Ltd. (四川智信锐捷网络科技有限公司), all of which are companies supplying products and services to Chinese intelligence agencies.
Among these, Sichuan Juxin He Network Technology Co., Ltd. was included in the U.S. Treasury's sanctions list in January, while the other two corporations were identified for the first time in this incident.
According to NBC News, they have hacked a total of 200 companies in over 80 countries. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the FBI issued a warning that about 600 companies in approximately 80 countries could be potential targets of this attack.
The U.S. government detected significant infrastructure attack movements by hackers linked to China last year and began investigating, with some reports of hacking damage or attempts becoming public through media outlets from that point onwards. However, the exact timing of the commencement of the Salt Typhoon attack has not yet been revealed.
Hackers have successfully infiltrated networks controlling critical infrastructure in various countries, including major telecommunications companies such as Verizon and AT&T, as well as state defense computer networks.
However, the Chinese government stated that it has not been involved in any hacking operations and claims that intelligence agencies are secretly conspiring to frame China. A spokesperson from the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. noted, 'The U.S. has not provided any decisive and reliable evidence,' stating that 'China opposes all forms of cyberattacks and cyber crimes and is fighting against them.'
The investigation involves the U.S. FBI, the National Security Agency (NSA), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Defense Cyber Crime Center (DC3), and government agencies from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, and Spain.