WASHINGTON: The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on a Chinese-based cybersecurity company for allegedly targeting “critical” US government infrastructure.
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller in a statement said the Integrity Technology Group, Incorporated (Integrity Tech), has links to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Ministry of State Security, for its role in multiple computer intrusion incidents against U.S. victims.
The statement said Integrity Tech is a large PRC government contractor with ties to the Ministry of State Security. It provides services to country and municipal State Security and Public Security Bureaus, as well as other PRC cybersecurity government contractors.
“PRC-based hackers working for Integrity Tech, known to the private sector as “Flax Typhoon,” were working at the direction of the PRC government, targeting critical infrastructure in the United States and overseas,” Miller added.
The statement noted “Flax Typhoon” hackers have successfully targeted multiple U.S. and foreign corporations, universities, government agencies, telecommunications providers, and media organisations.
On September 18, the Department of Justice revealed a court-approved operation aimed at disrupting a botnet made up of over 200,000 consumer devices infected by Integrity Tech, affecting both the United States and other countries.
In collaboration with Five Eyes partners, the United States also released a public cybersecurity advisory detailing some of the tactics used by PRC-linked cyber actors and providing technical guidance for network defenders to address these threats.
“These multi-agency efforts reflect our whole-of-government approach to protecting and defending against PRC cyber threats to Americans, our critical systems, and those of our allies and partners,” Matthew Miller said in the statement.
He said the United States will continue to use all the tools at its disposal to safeguard U.S. critical infrastructure and the American people from irresponsible and reckless cyber actors.
“The Treasury Department will not hesitate to hold malicious cyber actors and their enablers accountable for their actions,” acting Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence Bradley Smith had earlier said.
