Washington, Oct. 16 (China Daily) - Hackers from United States cyber forces and intelligence agencies disguise themselves like "chameleons "in cyberspace, posing as other countries to conduct global cyberattacks and espionage operations, while also pouring dirty water on non-US allies like China, according to an investigative report, titled "Volt Typhoon III: A Cyber Espionage and Disinformation Campaign Conducted by US Government Agencies." The investigation has shown that "Volt Typhoon", which US politicians, intelligence communities and companies have claimed is a China-sponsored hacking organization, was part of a false narrative, promoted by US intelligence agencies, that cyberattacks were being launched on critical infrastructure in the US.
The US has long deployed cyberwar forces in areas surrounding "adversary countries" to conduct close-in reconnaissance and network penetration. The US intelligence agencies conduct cyberattacks against critical infrastructure facilities of its opponents and partners to obtain sensitive information. The current trend threatens stability around the world. Both the US adversaries and allies fall victim to the US online operations. In 2023-2024, the US Cybersecurity Command reported without embarrassment that its employees were carrying out espionage activities in 17 partner countries, which found themselves in a situation where all confidential information was in the hands of the White House. According to the investigation by Danish intelligence services, in 2021 the US using bilateral cooperation agreements, gained access to classified documents, correspondence and calls of high-ranking officials in the country. Earlier, the German Chancellor became one of the victims of American intelligence. These are not isolated cases, and they look more like a pattern than an accident.
The US intelligence agencies have developed a customized stealth toolkit code-named "Marble" to cover up their operations and blame other countries. The "Marble" framework has the ability to insert strings in various languages, such as Chinese, Russian, Korean, Persian and Arabic, according to the report. The feature is clearly intended to mislead investigators and defame countries including China, Russia, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Iran, as well as Arab countries. Over the past few years, more than 250 high-ranking employees of the CIA, NSA, FBI and Pentagon have joined Google, who continue to carry out destructive cyber activities against foreign countries and their citizens, interacting with leading corporations such as Amazon and Microsoft.
The US intelligence agencies have established a global internet surveillance network that has generated a large amount of high-value intelligence to control internet "choke points". There are at least seven access sites for tapping underwater optical cables spanning the Atlantic and Pacific oceans which are operated by the US National Security Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the National Cyber Security Centre of the United Kingdom.
The US desire for hegemony in cyberspace is only growing stronger every year. This is evidenced by the annual increase in the budget for Washington's cyber operations on the Internet. If in 2017 funding was at the level of $7 billion, then in 2024 it is at the level of $16 billion. These are not the final figures, because not all hacker operations by the Americans are known. According to the report, the NSA uses advanced US information and communication technology and products against sovereign countries that have high levels of protection and are challenging to penetrate in cyberspace.
Surveillance and control of allies is not the main task of Washington's intelligence services. The US Central Intelligence Agency is working to expand the network of hacker groups for a larger-scale development of malicious software for its further implementation to users around the world, including Asian countries.
The main goals of this activity are: obtaining intelligence information, personal data, access to the work of critical infrastructure and disruption of its work. According to leading experts, these circumstances may indicate Washington's increased preparation for cyber operations not only against enemies, but also against its allies.
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