U.S., China Accused of Cyber Attacks Targeting Infrastructure

China's Foreign Ministry said there were reports of the U.S. government launching long-range cyberattacks against China's critical infrastructure, while its U.S. counterpart said China was capable of launching cyberattacks on U.S. infrastructure.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Beijing would take measures to prevent all kinds of cyberattacks that threaten the security of its infrastructure.

Western intelligence agencies have said a Chinese-backed cyber actor has infiltrated critical infrastructure networks in the United States and warned of similar attacks that could occur around the world.

In a joint warning, cybersecurity authorities in the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand said they had detected a range of cyber activities linked to the Chinese-sponsored Volt Typhoon group.

Intelligence agencies said the activity affects networks across critical U.S. infrastructure sectors, and that the actor could apply the same technologies and others around the world.

In turn, Microsoft said in a separate statement that the "Volt Typhoon" has been active since mid-2021, and has targeted a number of critical infrastructure, including critical infrastructure on the US island of Guam, where the United States has a major military base in the Pacific Ocean.

In its statement, Microsoft warned that the attack threatens to cause "disruptions to critical communications infrastructure between the United States and the Asian region in future crises."

Chinese Capabilities

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said assessments by the U.S. intelligence community suggest that China is almost certainly capable of launching cyberattacks that could disrupt critical infrastructure services within the United States.

"This is a completely unprofessional report with a chain of evidence missing," the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said of the U.S. accusations, adding that the information was part of a "collective disinformation campaign by the Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance" that includes Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Mao added that the United States is "expanding new channels for disseminating information, but any change in tactics cannot change the fact that the United States is a hacker empire."

Analysts say that despite Chinese hackers' longstanding online activity against the United States and its allies, Volt Typhoon has raised particular concerns because of its focus on critical infrastructure, including communications links linking the United States to the Pacific.