FBI foils major Chinese infrastructure hacking plan

[New Sancai Compilation and First Release] The FBI announced on September 18 that it had foiled a major operation by Chinese hackers aimed at penetrating critical infrastructure in the United States and overseas.

The FBI used a court order to seize control of a network containing hundreds of thousands of users, according to an advisory issued by the United States and its Five Eyes alliance, which includes Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK's English-speaking alliance. Network routers and other devices used by Chinese government-linked operatives to cause harm to the United States and its allies have been hacked.

"This is just one round in a long battle," FBI Director Christopher Wray said during a speech at the Aspen Web Summit in Washington, D.C., according to CNN. "The Chinese government will continue to target your organizations and our critical infrastructure."

Vast networks of hacked devices, known as botnets, enable Chinese hackers to conduct targeted cyberattacks on U.S. companies and government agencies. The FBI said the Chinese company, Integrity Technology Group, has controlled and managed the active botnet since mid-2021.

The FBI report said the botnet consisted of more than 260,000 devices spread across six continents, noting, "While it is known that devices beyond their useful life are more susceptible to compromise, many of the infected devices in the botnet controlled by Integrity Tech may still be supported by their respective vendors."

A breakdown of vulnerable devices shows that nearly 50% of infected devices are from the United States, with 126,000 devices. According to CyberSecurityNews, hackers exploited various known vulnerabilities to compromise devices, including those from vendors such as Zyxel, Fortinet, and QNAP.

In January, Wray told the House Select Committee on the Communist Party of China that "Chinese hackers are deploying on U.S. infrastructure, ready to wreak havoc and cause real harm by attacking U.S. citizens and communities when China decides the time is right."

(Compiled by: Wang Jimin)

(Editor: Jiang Qiming)

(Source of the article: Compiled and published by New Sancai)