Quote:Microsoft reported Wednesday that alleged China-backed hackers have conducted a cyberattack on "critical infrastructure," raising concerns about potential disruptions to communications infrastructure.

"Microsoft has uncovered stealthy and targeted malicious activity focused on post-compromise credential access and network system discovery aimed at critical infrastructure organizations in the United States," it said in a statement.

The company said the attack was carried out by Volt Typhoon, which it said was a state-sponsored actor based in China that focuses on espionage and information gathering.

"Microsoft assesses with moderate confidence that this Volt Typhoon campaign is pursuing development of capabilities that could disrupt critical communications infrastructure between the United States and Asia region during future crises," it said.

Volt Typhoon has been active since mid-2021 and has targeted critical infrastructure organizations in Guam and elsewhere in the US, it said.

"In this campaign, the affected organizations span the communications, manufacturing, utility, transportation, construction, maritime, government, information technology, and education sectors.

"Observed behavior suggests that the threat actor intends to perform espionage and maintain access without being detected for as long as possible," said the statement.

Quote:Microsoft officials on Wednesday issued an advisory saying a Chinese hacking group compromised “critical” U.S. cyber infrastructure focused on gathering intelligence – and urged customers to close or change credentials for exposed accounts.

(05-25-2023, 12:36 AM)Infolurker Wrote: Oh Oh, China is attempting to compromise US cyber and critical infrastructure. Not good as this is a "state sponsored" attack and not some random hacker group.

(05-25-2023, 03:34 AM)Skye Wrote:

(05-25-2023, 12:36 AM)Infolurker Wrote: Oh Oh, China is attempting to compromise US cyber and critical infrastructure. Not good as this is a "state sponsored" attack and not some random hacker group.

Here we go...
They will keep inching in a dozen different ways,
meanwhile the Big Guy Pops is looking at his feet
to make sure he doesn't trip.

We are so screwed, 2024 can't get here fast enough.

(05-25-2023, 03:34 AM)Skye Wrote: We are so screwed, 2024 can't get here fast enough.

(05-25-2023, 06:30 AM)Ninurta Wrote: It has been sufficiently shown to my satisfaction that "Pops" or "The Big Guy" is actively taking payment from the CCP, rather than simply bumbling along and looking at his feet to keep from tripping. It appears to me that he is an active player in the pay of the opposition, taking money to look the other way.

(05-25-2023, 11:50 AM)TheRedneck Wrote:

(05-25-2023, 06:30 AM)Ninurta Wrote: It has been sufficiently shown to my satisfaction that "Pops" or "The Big Guy" is actively taking payment from the CCP, rather than simply bumbling along and looking at his feet to keep from tripping. It appears to me that he is an active player in the pay of the opposition, taking money to look the other way.

Then he's the most adept actor in the history of the world.

As someone who dealt with a dementia patient on a day-to-day basis for several years, spanning from the onset of symptoms so slight that no one noticed to complete madness, Biden shows the exact same symptoms. I maintain that we are being led by someone with advanced dementia. I have heard rumors that there are certain drugs that, when carefully administered, can counteract symptoms to some degree for a short time (hours), but that part I have not been able to verify. His occasional ability to actually stumble through a debate back in the (s)election process would seem to me to bear that out, though.

I have to add that I am recently discovering that certain long-term, severe deficiencies might can also be a cause of similar behavior. So that may be a possibility as well.

I have to agree with the rest of your statement, though: Biden (or at least whoever is running things behind the scenes with him as a puppet figurehead) is definitely on the take in some way from the CCP. There's no other reasonable explanation for his actions. As US President, Biden has the authority to push through about any agenda he wishes, especially when he had political party support in both houses of Congress.

There is one concern I have with that theory, though. Not long ago, China launched a balloon which was allowed to survey electromagnetic signals across mainland US. Biden's initial response was expected: he let it go until it completed its mission, using flimsy excuses that never held a drop of water. But then,  after the remains were discovered and analyzed, suddenly Biden was demanding that anything that moved be shot out of the sky immediately. That was unexpected with Biden; anyone else I would have expected it from, but not him.

We have been under threat of this backdoor cyber-attack for decades now; I'm not sure at this point if we just found out about it or if someone just realized the extreme danger. All military chips are manufactured in China, from the simplest transistor to the most complex CPU. It wouldn't be some great feat of engineering to back-engineer a set of screens for a CPU, make a few adjustments to the circuitry, then re-create new screens that are all but impossible to discern from the originals with those changes to the circuitry intact. It would be even harder to examine a chip produced and determine which set of screens were used to make it. We are literally talking about millions of integrated components with dimensions measured in atoms.

And those control everything from a military Jeep to the latest missile guidance system.

The compromise is likely so great that we could elect all new, actual true patriots in 2024 and we couldn't even grasp the extent of infiltration for decades. Face it: as a nation, we're screwed.

TheRedneck