US FBI strikes second Chinese hacking group ‘Flax Typhoon’
The group was run by a Chinese company that ‘collected intelligence and performed reconnaissance for Chinese government security agencies’
US law enforcement has disrupted a second major Chinese hacking group nicknamed “Flax Typhoon”, FBI Director Christopher Wray said on Wednesday, wresting thousands of compromised devices from its grasp.
Speaking at a cybersecurity conference in Washington, Wray said Flax Typhoon was being run by a Chinese company called the Integrity Technology Group that posed as an IT firm but also “collected intelligence and performed reconnaissance for Chinese government security agencies”.
Representatives for China’s embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A previously known hacking group dubbed “Volt Typhoon” has been the subject of increasing concern by Western officials since it was first identified last year as the cyber sabotage group focused on establishing a foothold in critical US infrastructure.
US officials have said it is a China-backed group, while Beijing has said it is a ransomware gang.
Wray said the operation against Flax Typhoon took place last week “as part of our ongoing efforts to take China’s botnets offline”. Like Volt Typhoon, he said that Flax Typhoon was targeting critical infrastructure, but also corporations, media organisations, universities, and government agencies.
