FBI Director Christopher Wray has announced the successful disruption of a second major Chinese hacking group, known as “Flax Typhoon,” during his address at the Aspen Cyber Summit on Wednesday. Wray highlighted that this group had been targeting American organizations by taking over thousands of devices, many of which were located within the U.S.
Flax Typhoon is tied to a larger entity, Integrity Technology Group, which Wray described as a front for Chinese government intelligence-gathering operations. The group created a botnet by compromising devices, including digital storage systems and cameras, commonly found in both large and small organizations. The FBI’s intervention stopped the group’s ongoing efforts, although they launched a DDOS attack in an attempt to maintain control of the compromised network.
Wray compared Flax Typhoon to another Chinese hacking group, “Volt Typhoon,” which infiltrated U.S. critical infrastructure last year. Volt Typhoon’s operations included embedding themselves in sectors like energy and telecommunications, posing a significant threat to national security.
The FBI Director underscored that Chinese cyber operations are becoming increasingly complex and persistent, with many of these activities connected to geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China. Specifically, Wray noted that these cyberattacks are often linked to issues like U.S. support for Taiwan.
Wray concluded by reaffirming the FBI’s commitment to identifying and dismantling foreign hacking groups that threaten U.S. interests, calling the disruption of Flax Typhoon a key victory in the ongoing cyber conflict with China.
