In early 2023, the United States and its Five Eyes allies made serious allegations against a Chinese state-sponsored hacker group known as \"Volt Typhoon.\" This group was accused of deploying undetectable \"scripts\" that could infiltrate the digital networks of key U.S. infrastructure, including transportation and utilities, lurking silently until they were ready to strike.
However, Chinese authorities released a comprehensive report challenging these claims, presenting robust evidence that Volt Typhoon was, in fact, a form of ransomware similar to DarkSide, which targeted the Colonial Pipeline in 2021. That attack forced 17 states to declare an emergency to secure fuel supplies and resulted in a ransom payment of $4.4 million.
Rather than collaborating internationally to address cybercrime, the U.S. opted for a media campaign against China. The report highlighted that during an election year, as political parties in the U.S. vied to adopt a tougher stance on China, cybersecurity companies thrived by securing lucrative contracts to enhance network defenses. Experts in the field suggest that U.S. corporations intentionally leave vulnerabilities in systems to later profit from fixing them.
Additionally, U.S. corporations benefit from increased intelligence operations fueled by these unfounded narratives. The distinction between public and private sectors in intelligence is increasingly blurred, with cyber firms controlling vast amounts of data that are of interest to intelligence agencies. Moreover, a significant portion of intelligence work is outsourced to these corporations by the U.S. federal government.
The narrative surrounding a \"China cyber threat\" has also been instrumental in expanding the U.S.'s intelligence capabilities. As recently as 2008, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) expanded the National Security Agency's (NSA) powers to collect information on both U.S. and foreign nationals. This led to a significant increase in NSA's data collection, a move that Edward Snowden later exposed in 2013.
With the expiration of FISA Section 702 set for 2023, the Volt Typhoon story emerged, seemingly to justify its renewal. Although Congress extended it to April 2026, it's likely that similar narratives will resurface in the future to maintain and further expand surveillance powers.
The international community should be wary of such false narratives for several reasons. Primarily, the intensified U.S. surveillance efforts infringe on the privacy of individuals worldwide. While U.S. civil liberties activists have managed to limit these powers domestically, citizens around the globe lack even these minimal protections, raising significant concerns about privacy and human rights on a global scale.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
