Volt Typhoon: China allegedly indirectly admits to cyberattacks on the USA
US authorities have long warned of attacks on critical infrastructure. Now China has allegedly admitted to being responsible and given a reason.
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Behind closed doors, representatives of the Chinese government have apparently confirmed for the first time that the People's Republic is responsible for a series of cyberattacks on US infrastructure. This was reported by the Wall Street Journal, citing several sources familiar with the matter. According to the report, the admission that China is behind the Volt Typhoon hacking group was only made indirectly at a meeting in Geneva, but directly enough to be understood as such. The attacks were justified on the grounds of the USA's growing support for Taiwan. The People's Republic considers the island to be part of its own territory and is aiming for reunification.
Preparing for a conflict
Volt Typhoon is one of several names for a group that has been attacking critical infrastructure in the USA for years and has established itself there. A year ago, security agencies in the US, Canada, Australia and the UK warned of these attacks, stating that Volt Typhoon had been caught in the networks of critical facilities in the communications, energy, transportation and water sectors. The group was not engaged in espionage, which is why there are fears that it would be able to cause significant damage to US infrastructure in the event of an escalating conflict.
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The statements from the representative of the People's Republic at the meeting in Switzerland were "indirect and somewhat ambiguous", but most of the US delegation understood them as a "tacit admission and a warning about Taiwan", writes the US newspaper. The statements were made after the US delegation had explained how dangerous the attacks were and that they could be seen as an act of war. They wanted to make it clear that there were doubts that the Chinese government knew the full extent of the attacks.
According to the Wall Street Journal, it was also made clear at the meeting that the attacks are viewed differently in the US than the extensive attack on US providers that was made public last fall. This was seen in Washington as a case of cyber espionage, as they themselves also carry it out. The Chinese admission is significant because it indicates that Beijing considers a conflict over Taiwan to be the most likely scenario, the newspaper quotes an expert as saying. It was probably intended to send a direct signal. They wanted to let the USA know that they had the capability and were willing to use it.
(mho)
