US ISPs targeted by new Chinese cyberespionage gang

Novel Chinese cyberespionage operation Salt Typhoon was reported by The Wall Street Journal to have compromised several internet service providers across the U.S. in attacks, which its sources noted were in preparation for imminent cyber intrusions, The Register reports.

Such reported ISP compromise has not yet been confirmed by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. However, the development comes just a week after Flax Typhoon, another Chinese hacking group, had its massive Mirai-based botnet disrupted by the FBI and international law enforcement agencies. Another Chinese hacking operation was also noted by Binary Defense to have infiltrated a global aerospace engineering firm's network for cyberespionage. "...[G]iven the uptick in Chinese-linked attacks against critical infrastructure supply chains, ISPs, and core internet devices there is a clear strategy at play where attackers are aiming to identify and exploit logical choke points in our society to take control of the flow of information and supplies," said Binary Defense Director of Security Research John Dwyer.