US FBI: China-Linked Hacker Group Volt Typhoon Operated in 80 Countries Worldwide

Volt Typhoon Targets Over 600 Companies Worldwide
FBI: Over One Million Call Records Compromised
Global Cyber Espionage Operation Uncovered

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has revealed that the operation of the China-linked hacker group, Volt Typhoon, which also wiretapped phone calls of U.S. President Donald Trump, targeted more than 80 countries worldwide.

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 27th (local time), Brett Leatherman, Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI, stated, "This is one of the most significant cyber espionage incidents we have witnessed in the United States." He noted that the group targeted the phone calls and text messages of more than 100 Americans and likely obtained over one million call records.

It was found that the hackers were also able to access information from the network surveillance request system, which the federal government uses with court authorization. They infiltrated networks by exploiting already known vulnerabilities in routers and other network-connected software and equipment.

The Volt Typhoon operation is estimated to have begun at least as early as 2019. The FBI notified about 600 companies of evidence of hacking activity. The three major U.S. telecommunications companies-Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile-were also targeted. In some countries, telecommunications networks were compromised to varying degrees, while in others, the extent of the damage remains unclear.

Deputy Assistant Director Leatherman stated that this incident is far more extensive and indiscriminate than anticipated, going beyond the scope of typical espionage activities. He said that the hackers could track the movements of Americans abroad by utilizing mobile phone location data.

Leatherman added, "If similar information can be extracted globally, it allows for a level of intelligence far beyond what can be obtained by targeting a single country," and emphasized, "Such indiscriminate global targeting deviates from the conventional norms of cyberspace operations."

The FBI stated that most of Volt Typhoon's intrusions have now been blocked and that it now has enhanced capabilities to detect their activities. On this day, the FBI, together with security agencies from the United Kingdom, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Poland, and others, released documents containing new details about Volt Typhoon's hacking activities.

Meanwhile, China has denied involvement in the operation, countering that U.S. intelligence agencies and cybersecurity firms fabricated evidence to frame China. Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in the United States, said that the United States has failed to provide decisive and credible evidence linking Volt Typhoon to the Chinese government, adding, "China firmly opposes and cracks down on all forms of cyberattacks and cybercrime."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.