Brass Typhoon: The Chinese Hacking Group Lurking in the Shadows
1 min read
Summary
Researchers have warned that state-sponsored hacking groups are now operating in a less easily identifiable manner than in the past, making their activity harder to attribute.
The Chinese groups known as Salt, Volt and Brass Typhoon (also known as APT41 or Barium) have been tracked since around 2012, but recently their behaviour has changed, becoming part of a larger ecosystem of Beijing-linked hacking activity.
This change makes it harder for security researchers to distinguish the individual activities of each group, and to attribute attacks to China with confidence.
One analyst commented: “There was a time when there were very simple indicators that told us who each actor was, and they were operating incredibly loudly, so it was easy to spot the smash-and-grab nature of the activity.”
Now, he said, such groups are operating far more quietly, making them harder to identify and deter.
