The United States has sanctioned a Chinese cyber security company for conducting a massive cyber attack. According to US Treasury officials, this attack could have resulted in casualties.
The US Department of Treasury announced that one of the employees of Sichuan Silence Company, which is located in the city of Chengdu, named Guan Tianfeng, In 2020, it has installed malicious malware on more than 80,000 firewalls belonging to thousands of companies around the world.
In addition to stealing information, the malware made by the Chinese company Sichuan Silence has also been used to launch ransomware; A malicious tool that cripples corporate networks by encrypting data. Dozens of firewalls protected the company’s critical infrastructure systems, and if the hacking attack had not been thwarted or contained, it could have resulted in serious injury or loss of life, the statement said.
An energy company targeted in the Sichuan Silence hack was apparently actively drilling at the time of the attack. In this statement, it is said that if the hacker attack was not neutralized, it could have caused a technical failure in the oil drilling rigs.
Tianfeng is separately charged with conspiracy to commit wire and computer fraud, according to a US Department of Justice indictment released yesterday. The FBI has also offered a $10 million reward for information about the 30-year-old man, his company or their hacking activities.
This is not the first time Sichuan Silence has been accused of malicious digital activities. According to Reuters, Meta alleged in 2021 that the Chinese company was linked to an online influence campaign that promoted bogus biological claims about US involvement in the search for the source of Covid-19. Beijing denies any involvement in hacking attacks and other malicious cyber activities.
Ross McKercherThe chief information security officer of UK-based Sophos, whose routers were among the targets of the cyber attack attributed to Sichuan Silence, said in a statement that the hackers had shown a stubborn determination.
