Cyber Security News

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.

Leveraging 2024 MITRE ATT&CK Results for SME & MSP Cybersecurity Leaders – Attend Free Webinar

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.

Investigate Real-World Malicious Links, Malware & Phishing Attacks With ANY.RUN – Try for Free 

Aman Mishra

Aman Mishra is a Security and privacy Reporter covering various data breach, cyber crime, malware, & vulnerability.

Recent Posts

Secure Ideas Achieves CREST Accreditation and CMMC Level 1 Compliance

Secure Ideas, a premier provider of penetration testing and security consulting services, proudly announces its…

11 hours ago

New Phishing Campaign Targets Investors to Steal Login Credentials

Symantec has recently identified a sophisticated phishing campaign targeting users of Monex Securities (マネックス証券), a…

11 hours ago

UAC-0219 Hackers Leverage WRECKSTEEL PowerShell Stealer to Extract Data from Computers

In a concerning development, CERT-UA, Ukraine's Computer Emergency Response Team, has reported a series of…

11 hours ago

Hunters International Linked to Hive Ransomware in Attacks on Windows, Linux, and ESXi Systems

Hunters International, a ransomware group suspected to be a rebrand of the infamous Hive ransomware,…

12 hours ago

Qilin Operators Imitate ScreenConnect Login Page to Deploy Ransomware and Gain Admin Access

In a recent cyberattack attributed to the Qilin ransomware group, threat actors successfully compromised a…

12 hours ago

Operation HollowQuill Uses Malicious PDFs to Target Academic and Government Networks

A newly uncovered cyber-espionage campaign, dubbed Operation HollowQuill, has been identified as targeting academic, governmental,…

12 hours ago