Explained | Everything about 'Volt Typhoon': China-backed hackers targeting critical US base in Guam

Around the time the FBIwas investigating the equipment recovered from the Chinese spy balloon shot down off the coast of South Carolina in February, American intelligence agencies and Microsoft discovered what they feared was a more dangerous intruder, amysterious computer code appearing in telecommunications systems in Guam and elsewhere in the United States. Guam is strategically significant as the American overseas territory hosts one of its largest airbases.

The malware, which Microsoft claimed was placed by a Chinese government hacking group, sparked concern since Guam, with its Pacific ports and massive American air base, would be the focal point of any American military reaction to an invasion or blockade of Taiwan. To make the infiltration harder to track, the operation was carried out with tremendous stealth, often passing through home routers and other popular internet-connected consumer devices, reported the New York Times.

What can the malware do?

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The hackers were seen using a code known as "web shell," a malicious script that allows remote access to a server. Home routers are primarilyvulnerable, particularlyolder devices with out-of-date software and security.

The computer code, unlike the balloon that captivated Americans as it performed pirouettes above vital nuclear installations, could not be shot down on live television.

Instead, Microsoft revealed details of the code on Wednesday, allowing business users, manufacturers, and others to find itand delete it.

The National Security Agency, together with other domestic agencies and intelligence counterparts in Australia, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Canada -- collectively known as Five Eyes-- issued a 24-page alert referring to Microsoft's discovery and issuing broader cautions about a "recently discovered" vulnerability.

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'Volt Typhoon'

Microsoft dubbed the hacking group"Volt Typhoon" and said it was part of a state-sponsored Chinese campaign aiming not just targeting key infrastructure like communications, electric and gas utilities, but also marine operations and transportation. For the time being, the breaches looked to be part of an espionage effort.

However, the Chinese might utilise the code, which is designed to breach firewalls, to launch devastating assaults if they so choose.

As stated by Microsoft, there is no proof that the Chinese organisation has exploited the access for hostile assaults thus far. Chinese intelligence and military hackers, unlike Russian outfits, typically prioritise espionage.

In interviews, administration officials said they suspected the code was part of a massive Chinese intelligence collecting programme that included internet, outer space, and, as the balloon incident revealed, the lower atmosphere.

Biden administration's response

The Biden administration has refused to divulge what the FBI discovered when examining the equipment retrieved from the balloon. However, the craft — better defined as a massive airborne vehicle — appears to have incorporated specialised radars and communications interception gear, which the FBIhas been investigating since the balloon was shot down.

It is unclear if the administration's quiet regarding its discovery from the balloon is driven by a desire to block the Chinese government from learning what the US has discovered or by a desire to move past the diplomatic snub that accompanied the discovery.

President Biden said during a press conference in Hiroshima, Japan, on Sunday that the balloon episode had paralysed the already tense relations between Washington and Beijing.

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“And then this silly balloon that was carrying two freight cars’ worth of spying equipment was flying over the United States,” he told reporters.

“And it got shot down, and everything changed in terms of talking to one another,” he added.

China has never admitted hacking into American networks, even in the most severe case: the theft of security clearance data from the Office of Personnel Management under the Obama administration, including six million sets of fingerprints.

That data exfiltration took about a year and ended in an agreement between President Barack Obama and President Xi Jinping that resulted in a modest decrease in detrimental Chinese cyberactivity.

Tabletop exercises

In an interview, Tom Burt, the executive in charge of Microsoft's threat intelligence unit, stated that the code was discovered "while investigating intrusion activity impacting a USport" by the company's analysts, many of whom had previously worked for the National Security Agency and other intelligence organisations, reported the New York Times.

Anne Neuberger, the deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology, said that covert efforts “like the activity exposed today are part of what’s driving our focus on the security of telecom networks and the urgency to use trusted vendors” whose equipment has met cybersecurity standards.

In the countless number of tabletop exercises performed by the United States in recent years to simulate such an attack, one of China's first anticipated steps would be to cut off American communications and limit the United States' capacity to respond.

As a result, the simulations anticipate satellite and ground communications strikes, particularly near American locations where military assets might be mobilised.

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