Australia Backs UK Sanctions on Chinese Cyber Firms Linked to Global Hacking

On Dec. 10, the UK sanctioned Chinese firm i-Soon for targeting over 80 government and private networks worldwide.

Prince, a member of the hacking group Red Hacker Alliance who refused to give his real name, uses his computer at their office in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, China, on Aug. 4, 2020. Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images

Australia has thrown its support behind Britain’s sanctions on two China-based cybersecurity companies, saying the firms have been tied to global hacking operations.

A day after Britain imposed sanctions on the two companies for allegedly conducting malicious cyber operations against the UK and its allies, the Australian government said it “shares the UK’s concern with the increasing scale and severity of malicious cyber activity, including by information security companies linked to the Chinese government.”

“These actors have controlled and managed botnets since mid-2021,” the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said on Dec. 10.

“They have compromised thousands of devices globally, with victims observed in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Southeast Asia, and Australia.”

DFAT warned the activity “threatens the stability and predictability of cyberspace and has wide-ranging implications for victims and their networks.”

It said technical advisories are helping to detect and mitigate these threats, “including in relation to Integrity Technology Group.”

UK Blacklists i-Soon and Integrity Technology

On Dec. 10, the UK formally blacklisted Sichuan Anxun Information Technology, also known as i-Soon.

The British Foreign Office said the company targeted more than 80 government and private-sector networks worldwide and helped others plan cyberespionage.

The UK also sanctioned Integrity Technology Group Inc., a Beijing-based firm accused of running “a covert cyber network” and enabling cyberattacks by other actors.

British officials said both companies illustrate the threat posed by China’s cyber industry. They pointed to data brokers and “hackers for hire,” and noted that some firms provide services directly to the Chinese regime’s intelligence community.

U.S. authorities previously linked Integrity Technology to the Ministry of State Security. In January, Washington sanctioned the company for supplying infrastructure used by a Chinese state-backed hacking group, known as Flax Typhoon, between mid-2022 and late 2023.

According to the U.S. State Department, Flax Typhoon infiltrated multiple government departments, telecom operators, media outlets, universities, and private companies across several countries.

ASIO Warned of ‘Shift to Sabotage’

The UK sanctions come one month after Australia’s intelligence chief issued a stark warning about escalating Chinese cyber activity.

ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess said Chinese state-backed hackers were now targeting Australia’s most critical systems and had shifted intent from “espionage to sabotage.”

Speaking at a cybersecurity forum in Melbourne on Nov. 12, he said espionage and foreign interference cost the economy $12.5 billion in 2023–24.

Burgess highlighted two Chinese hacking groups: Salt Typhoon and Volt Typhoon, for attacks on telecommunications networks in Australia and the United States.

“These groups are hackers working for Chinese government intelligence and their military,” Burgess said.

He revealed that Volt Typhoon infiltrated U.S. military-linked infrastructure in Guam, giving Beijing the capacity “to turn off telecommunications and other critical infrastructure.”

“And yes,” he added, “we have seen Chinese hackers probing our critical infrastructure as well.”

Dorothy Li contributed to the article