Digital Dragon Watch: CCP Hacks US Treasury, Telcos & Taiwan in Cyber Rampage! Is Your Data Safe?

This is your Digital Dragon Watch: Weekly China Cyber Alert podcast.

Hey there, I'm Ting, and welcome to Digital Dragon Watch, your weekly dose of China cyber alerts. Let's dive right in because the past few days have been anything but quiet.

First off, the U.S. Treasury Department was hit by a state-sponsored cyberattack courtesy of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in early December. This isn't just any breach; it's a strategic move to undermine U.S. economic competitiveness and gather intel for future conflicts, especially over Taiwan[4].

But that's not all. The CCP has been busy infiltrating U.S. critical infrastructure, including telecommunications networks. The Salt Typhoon group, a Chinese state-backed hacker group, has breached at least nine U.S. telecommunications providers, giving the Chinese government "broad and full" access to Americans' data and the capability to geolocate millions of individuals[1][4].

And let's not forget about Volt Typhoon, another Chinese state-backed hacker group that gained control of hundreds of internet routers in the U.S. to be used as launch pads for attacks on critical infrastructure systems, including water treatment plants, the electrical grid, and transportation systems[4].

The U.S. government is taking notice. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has been working tirelessly to detect and evict Chinese cyber actors from U.S. critical infrastructure. CISA's threat hunters have been instrumental in identifying and mitigating these threats, including the Volt Typhoon campaign[2].

But here's the thing: the CCP isn't just targeting the U.S. Taiwan is bearing the brunt of these hybrid tactics, with government networks facing an unprecedented surge in cyber incidents, averaging 2.4 million attacks daily in 2024[4].

So, what's the U.S. government doing about it? The U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security is calling for offensive cyber strategies in response to these rising adversarial threats. Representative Mark E. Green emphasized the need for prepared cyber professionals and a coordinated, whole-of-government effort to rapidly share information with the private sector[5].

In the face of these escalating threats, it's clear that the U.S. needs to up its cybersecurity game. As David Sedney, former deputy assistant secretary of defense, put it, "It looks as if things are going to get much worse before they get any better"[1].

Stay vigilant, folks. The digital dragon is on the move, and we need to be ready. That's all for now. Stay safe, and we'll catch you on the flip side.

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