Microsoft Reports Chinese Volt Typhoon Hacking Attacks On US Military in Asia

Microsoft’s internationally active department for combating online threats such as hacker attacks or malware says it has proven that there have been a number of attacks on US military bases and infrastructure in the USA, behind which state-funded attackers from China are stuck.

As the Microsoft Security Research Center (MSRC) recently announced, malicious activities by “state-sponsored actors based in China” have been demonstrated over a long period of time against companies in the critical infrastructure sector in the US and US military facilities on the Southeast Asian island of Guam.

Volt Typhoon attacks

As part of an operation that Microsoft security experts call “Volt Typhoon,” the build-up of capabilities is being pursued with which the critical communications infrastructure between the United States and Asia can be disabled in future crises. “Volt Typhoon” has been active since mid-2021, with the attacks targeting facilities and companies in Guam and the United States, the company said.

Guam is home to several major US military installations, including Andersen Air Force Base, a huge air force base. They are of enormous importance to US military activity in the Asia-Pacific region and would play an important role should the situation around the Chinese-claimed island nation of Taiwan, in particular, deteriorate drastically.

According to Microsoft, the Chinese hackers are primarily trying to target the US military’s communications capabilities. Contact has already been made with the responsible authorities in the military and the affected infrastructure service providers in order to provide information with which the attacks can be repelled, the group said.