US Charged Chinese Hackers for Exploiting Thousands of Firewall

The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned Sichuan Silence Information Technology Company and its employee Guan Tianfeng for their involvement in the April 2020 global firewall compromise, which targeted numerous US critical infrastructure companies. 

The Department of Justice has also indicted Guan for the same cybercrime, and the State Department has offered a $10 million reward for information on the individuals involved, highlighting the US government’s commitment to combating Chinese cyber threats and holding malicious actors accountable.

Zero-day Vulnerability Exploited

Guan Tianfeng exploited a zero-day vulnerability in a firewall product to compromise approximately 81,000 firewalls worldwide, including 36 critical infrastructure systems in the US, which aimed to steal sensitive data and deploy the Ragnarok ransomware. 

It could have potentially disabled security measures and encrypted critical systems, leading to severe consequences, such as oil rig malfunctions and potential loss of life, while timely detection and mitigation of the attack prevented significant damage.

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Guan, a Chinese cybersecurity researcher affiliated with Sichuan Silence, a Chinese government contractor, exploited a zero-day vulnerability to compromise a US firewall in April 2020 by leveraging tools and techniques provided by Sichuan Silence, enabling access to sensitive US networks. 

Sichuan Silence, known for its involvement in cyber espionage and offensive cyber operations, has been sanctioned by the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for these malicious activities, which pose a significant threat to US national security.

OFAC has imposed sanctions on designated persons, blocking their U.S. assets and prohibiting transactions with them, as entities 50% or more owned by blocked persons are also subject to these restrictions. 

Transactions involving sanctioned individuals or entities are not permitted to be pursued by individuals or entities based in the United States. 

Financial institutions and other persons involved in such transactions may face sanctions or enforcement actions, as OFAC’s sanctions aim to induce behavioral change and may be lifted under specific conditions.

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