February 7, 2024 at 03:11PM
The Chinese cyber-espionage group Volt Typhoon infiltrated U.S. critical infrastructure networks, remaining undetected for at least five years. They utilize living off the land techniques, stolen accounts, and strong operational security to maintain long-term access. U.S. authorities warn of potential disruption to critical infrastructure, with mitigation advice provided alongside the advisory.
Key takeaways from the meeting notes:
1. The Chinese Volt Typhoon cyber-espionage group has infiltrated and remained undetected within critical infrastructure networks in the United States for at least five years before being discovered by a joint advisory from CISA, the NSA, the FBI, and partner Five Eyes agencies. They are known for extensively using living off the land (LOTL) techniques and stolen accounts while maintaining strong operational security to avoid detection and maintain long-term persistence on compromised systems.
2. The Volt Typhoon actors conduct extensive pre-exploitation reconnaissance, and tailor their tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) to victim environments. They are known to have breached networks of critical infrastructure organizations across various sectors, such as communications, energy, transportation, and water/wastewater, with a focus on accessing Operational Technology (OT) assets for potentially disruptive or destructive cyber activity in case of a major crisis or conflict with the United States.
3. U.S. authorities are concerned about potential disruptive effects caused by Volt Typhoon exploiting their access to critical networks amid military conflicts or geopolitical tensions and have been working with partner agencies to combat PRC cyber actors.
4. A technical guide has been released for network defenders with information on detecting Volt Typhoon techniques, mitigation measures to secure networks against Living Off the Land techniques, and advice on hardening targets against intrusions.
5. The Chinese threat group, also tracked as Bronze Silhouette, has used a botnet of hundreds of small office/home offices (SOHO) across the United States, known as the KV-botnet, to hide their malicious activity and evade detection. The FBI disrupted KV-botnet in December 2023, and SOHO router manufacturers have been urged to ensure their devices are protected against Volt Typhoon attacks.
Overall, the meeting notes highlight the persistent and advanced cyber threats posed by the Chinese Volt Typhoon cyber-espionage group to U.S. critical infrastructure and the ongoing efforts to detect, mitigate, and combat their activities.