US sanctions China's Integrity Tech for ties to group Flax Typhoon's alleged hacking of critical infrastructure

The United States Government on January 3 sanctioned China's Integrity Technology Group, for allegedly being linked to a “prolific hacking group” known as Flax Typhoon, Reuters reported.

In a statement, the US Department of State said that Integrity Tech was a Chinese government contractor with links to the eastern countries' Ministry of State Security. Further, it alleged that the company's hackers were being directed by the Chinese government to target critical infrastructure in the US and other places, the report added.

Allegations: Intelligence Gathering, Reconnaissance

Earlier in September, FBI Director Christopher Wray had accused Integrity Tech of being “behind” Flax Typhoon and accused the Beijing-based company of “collecting intelligence and performing reconnaissance for Chinese government security agencies.”

In an advisory pushed out by the US and its allies Australia, Britain, Canada and New Zealand, cyber officials have alleged that Integrity Tech “compromised more than 250,000 devices around the world”.

China Says ‘Jumped to Unwarranted Conclusion’

On its part in previous statements, China has said the conclusions in relation to Integrity and Flax Typhoon are “groundless”, the report added. Chinese officials in turn have accused the US and allies of jumping “to an unwarranted conclusion” and making “groundless accusations against China”, it said.

The Flax Typhoon hacking group is one of a series of Chinese cyberespionage actors which have gained attention recently due to the targeting of sensitive data and critical infrastructure. Others groups identified as involved include Volt Typhoon and Salt Typhoon. US officials fear that Volt Typhoon is preparing for conflict with the US, while the latter has “burrowed” into US telecom companies.

Last week, US Treasury officials in a statement claimed that an unnamed Chinese hacking group had broken into the Department's computers and compromised an undisclosed amount of data. The target was Treasury's sanctions office, the Washington Post later reported.

(With inputs from Reuters)