Jen Easterly from CISA confirmed on Wednesday that Salt Typhoon threat actors were detected on US government networks prior to telcos discovering the same activity in their organizations. She went on to say it is likely “just the tip of the iceberg” of Chinese state-sponsored intrusions into critical U.S infrastructure.
She also took the opportunity to voice concerns that as tensions rise between the U.S and China in regards to the status of Taiwan there could be attacks on critical power and water infrastructure intended to cause disruption or destruction.
As a new administration takes office this month it will interesting to see if these attacks escalate or if tensions are able to be eased through diplomacy and negotiations. In my humble opinion I doubt state-sponsored cyber espionage is ever likely to disappear, a strong defense seems to be the correct posture to take. The risk reward ratio is simply too high to ignore when compared with espionage being done in-person.
I’m also looking forward to a more detailed write-up on these attacks and the vectors that were utilized as well as any legislation or regulations that could be enacted to better protect both our data and vulnerable infrastructure.
Additional details from The Register here!