China-Backed Hackers Targeting Critical US Infrastructure, Microsoft and Five Eyes Warn

Microsoft notes hits on strategic Pacific island of Guam

A man walks past a Microsoft sign outside a Microsoft office building in Beijing on July 31, 2014. Greg Baker/AFP via Getty Images

A Chinese cyber espionage group has been targeting a wide range of networks across U.S. critical infrastructure sectors, from telecommunications to transportation hubs, since at least mid-2021, according to Microsoft and various cybersecurity agencies under the Five Eyes alliance.

Microsoft announced on May 24 that the “stealthy and targeted malicious activity” is carried out by Volt Typhoon, a state-sponsored actor based in China that usually spies and gathers information on targets.