Beijing accused of misusing Western research to claim Volt Typhoon is a ransomware group

Alexander Martin

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China’s national cybersecurity agency was accused on Wednesday of misrepresenting research from Western cybersecurity companies in an ongoing attempt to deny allegations that a Being-backed hacking group is behind attacks targeting critical infrastructure in the West.

The cybersecurity company Trellix pushed back against a conspiratorial report published Monday by China’s National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center (CVERC) claiming that the Five Eyes intelligence alliance had concocted evidence about the hacking campaign.

“This is likely an effort from the Chinese government to manipulate public perceptions of China threats,” said John Fokker, the head of threat intelligence at Trellix.

As researchers previously told Recorded Future News, the group tracked as Volt Typhoon by Microsoft and as Bronze Silhouette by Secureworks has gone to great lengths to conceal its connections to China, suggesting that Beijing has become increasingly sensitive about being blamed for offensive cyber operations.

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) had in February warned that the hackers were “seeking to pre-position themselves on IT networks for disruptive or destructive cyberattacks against U.S. critical infrastructure in the event of a major crisis or conflict with the United States.”