US sanctions Chinese firm Integrity after Flax Typhoon connection
Written by Finbarr Toesland Thu 9 Jan 2025
Beijing-based cybersecurity company, Integrity Technology Group, has been sanctioned by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) after its alleged connection to the Flax Typhoon hacking group.
According to a press release from the US Treasury, infrastructure linked to the cybersecurity firm was used by Flax Typhoon criminals between 2022 and 2023 to target multiple victims.
Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Bradley T. Smith, said the Treasury Department ‘will not hesitate to hold malicious cyber actors and their enablers accountable for their actions’.
“The United States will use all available tools to disrupt these threats as we continue working collaboratively to harden public and private sector cyber defences,” said Smith.
The state-sponsored Flax Typhoon hacking group are believed to have been involved in cybercrime activities since 2021, with a focus on targeting organisations working in critical infrastructure sectors in the US. These sanctions make it illegal for Integrity Technology Group to engage with financial institutions in the US and work with US businesses.
“The Justice Department is zeroing in on the Chinese government-backed hacking groups that target the devices of innocent Americans and pose a serious threat to our national security,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.
Garland added the Justice Department has ‘again destroyed a botnet used by PRC-backed hackers to infiltrate consumer devices here in the US and around the world.’
Firms like Integrity Technology Group do not operate alone against US interests, with Chinese-based cyber criminals being a major challenge to US national security.
In September 2024, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, alongside its Five Eye partners, published a joint cybersecurity advisory that pointed to evidence that Integrity Technology Group was operating a botnet totalling over 260,000 compromised devices. The year before, the group was first identified by Microsoft after cases of targeting Taiwanese businesses for espionage purposes were uncovered.
Written by Finbarr Toesland Thu 9 Jan 2025