Guam is a strategic US military base. Photo: AP. infrastructure organizations, including an attack on the U.S. island territory of Guam, home to a strategic military presence.
Hackers managed to inject computer code that fit into Microsoft Windows systems, avoiding detection while maintaining access and collecting information, according to separate reports from Microsoft and Western intelligence agencies.
The approach to cyberattacks is called “living off the ground” and suggests that hackers use “built-in network tools to bypass our defenses and leave no traces,” said Rob Joyce, director NSA Cybersecurity.
< p>It is not clear how large the attack was and what information could have been obtained, although it is potentially one of the largest cyber-espionage campaigns ever known against US infrastructure.
The US National Security Agency is working on it. with Five Eyes partners in the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand to detect violations.
The UK's National Cybersecurity Center warned that “the same methods could be used around the world.”
Microsoft said it assesses with “moderate confidence” that this campaign is aimed at developing capabilities that could disrupt mission-critical systems. communications infrastructure between the United States and the Asian region during future crises.”
This makes the attack on Guam a particular challenge, as it will be a key part of any US military response to the conflict in the Indo-Pacific region.
Tensions are rising over Taiwan, an island nation with its own democratically elected government that China claims as its territory.
Experts have stressed that China may act on President Xi Jinping's repeated promises to annex Taiwan by leading an invasion or blockade.
Such scenarios have worried neighboring countries, as well as the United States from afar – the conflict over Taiwan can be seen as an indirect sign of the deterioration of bilateral relations between Beijing and Washington.
In the region, China also lays claim to the South China Sea, a claim disputed by many countries that share resource-rich waters.
Over the past decade, China has built and militarized rocky outposts. The Chinese Ministry of Transportation said on Wednesday it had deployed three navigational beacons around the disputed island group in its latest attempt to claim the area.
Earlier this month, the Philippines also deployed navigational buoys within its territory. exclusive economic zone in an attempt to stand its ground. The Philippines is one of the countries in Southeast Asia that disputes China's territorial claims.
Microsoft has released a guide on how to detect and defend against hacks, although “detecting and stopping this attack can be challenging”, given the nature of how malicious code can be hidden in existing network infrastructure.
A state-sponsored Chinese hacker group dubbed Volt Typhoon has been known to engage in spying and has been active since mid-2021. .
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