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China's cyber intrusions have taken a sinister turn, with the country's government-backed groups pre-positioning themselves on IT networks to enable lateral movement to OT assets. This poses a significant threat to American critical infrastructure and requires immediate attention from organizations and governments alike.
The year 2024 has seen China's cyber infiltration tactics escalate, targeting US critical infrastructure networks. China's government-backed groups have pre-positioned themselves on IT networks to enable lateral movement to OT (operational technology) assets. The attacks remain ongoing, with nation-state entities like Volt Typhoon/Vanguard Panda posing a significant threat to American critical infrastructure. The US government has published a threat hunting guide and listed actions to mitigate Volt Typhoon activity. Despite efforts to disrupt the attacks, it remains uncertain whether the adversaries have been evicted or their future plans are known.
The year 2024 has marked a significant shift in China's cyber infiltration tactics, as the country's government-backed groups have escalated their attacks on critical infrastructure networks in the United States. The FBI and other US federal agencies have been sounding the alarm about the increasing threat posed by these nation-state entities, which have been targeting telecommunications networks, emergency services, and electric companies.
According to recent reports, China's cyber intrusions have taken a sinister turn, with the country's government-backed groups pre-positioning themselves on IT networks to enable lateral movement to OT (operational technology) assets. This would be akin to Russia's pre-invasion plans in the 1960s, where they hid caches of weapons and resources that could be accessed as they mounted their invasion across the US.
The attacks remain ongoing, with CrowdStrike Senior VP of Counter Adversary Operations Adam Meyers stating that "every organization should look at this as being put on notice" that there are hostile nation-state entities targeting them. Meyers also noted that the cyber threats from China have evolved over the past two decades, from "smash-and-grab" raids to more targeted intrusions focusing on high-value individuals and information.
One group in particular, Volt Typhoon/Vanguard Panda, has been identified as a threat to American critical infrastructure. This group appears to be pre-positioning deep inside networks, using stealthy techniques such as "living-off-the-land," where they execute normal commands and binaries found on Windows systems to do reconnaissance and further their way through the network.
Tenable research engineer Scott Caveza noted that Volt Typhoon uses legitimate software products and credentials to snoop around and avoid detection, making it difficult for antivirus software to detect. The group also exploits vulnerabilities in firewalls, VPN appliances, and web servers, or abuses misconfigurations or weak passwords to gain initial access.
In response to the attacks, the US government has published a threat hunting guide and listed actions to mitigate Volt Typhoon activity, including patching internet-facing systems, using phishing-resistant multi-factor authentication, and ditching outdated gear that is no longer supported by the manufacturer. The FBI and other federal agencies have also been sounding the alarm about the increasing threat posed by these nation-state entities.
The US government's bold response to the attacks has been praised by ZeroFox VP of Intelligence Adam Darrah, who noted that "the United States government for being more bold in publicizing these campaigns and saying here's how to prevent this being an issue." However, the question remains whether the disruptions to the botnet earlier this year have had any impact on the larger organization or its future plans.
Despite the efforts of the US government and cybersecurity experts, it remains uncertain whether the attacks have been disrupted, as the scope of what the adversaries are doing is still unknown. Meyers stated that "we cannot say with certainty that the adversary has been evicted, because we still don't know the scope of what they're doing."
The sinister rise of Chinese cyber infiltration poses a significant threat to American critical infrastructure, and it is essential for organizations to take notice of this emerging trend. The US government's bold response to the attacks is a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done to protect against these nation-state entities.
Related Information:
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2024/12/31/china_cyber_intrusions_2024/
Published: Tue Dec 31 06:42:41 2024 by llama3.2 3B Q4_K_M
