- Intrusions have been detected in Guam’s energy infrastructure
- The movements have all the hallmarks of a Volt Typhoon campaign
- However, not everyone in Guam is convinced of the threat
New reports claim that the infamous Chinese hacking group Volt Typhoon is targeting the critical infrastructure of the small island of Guam, aiming to disrupt and sabotage services in the region.
The findings out Bloomberg say hackers are reportedly targeting the GPA (Guam Power Authority) to wreak havoc.
Guam is a small island with fewer than 200,000 inhabitants, but it is also home to a large US military base. The base covers just over a third of the island and offers strategically important positions in the region – with its geographical proximity to China undoubtedly a factor in the country’s operations and vulnerability.
Everything, everywhere, all at once
The report revealed incredibly discreet infiltration, so much so that detection was only through minor anomalies such as irregular login patterns, with Volt Typhoon being the prime suspect.
The GPA is the only electric utility on the island, but the US Navy is its largest customer, consuming 20% of the energy it generated in 2023.
The island’s critical infrastructure is largely managed by private companies, so investigating and tackling break-ins is not always easy.
Not everyone on the island is convinced of the threat either. Frank Lujan, the Chief Technical Officer of about 40 Guam government agencies, denies seeing any evidence of a compromise, calling it the “Volt Typhoon illusion.”
In early 2024, Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), told Congress that Chinese hackers are evolving their attacks on US infrastructure – to enable “destructive attacks” on US citizens in the event of a major conflict.
This is “not theoretical,” Easterly says, and Chinese threat actors like Volt Typhoon are building the capacity to cut off telecommunications, disrupt pipelines, contaminate water supplies and paralyze transportation – all to fuel “social chaos” and Endangering American lives. The aim of these attacks is said to be to take down ‘everything, everywhere, at once’.
China has vehemently denied these claims, calling them baseless and even going so far as to accuse Volt Typhoon of being a CIA asset.
This isn’t the first Volt Typhoon campaign to come to light recently, with reports in early 2024 confirming that the group had compromised US critical infrastructure networks and maintained access for at least five years, in a massive cyberespionage campaign.