Washington, May 24 (EFE).- A state-sponsored Chinese hacking group is spying on critical infrastructure in the United States, Microsoft and Western intelligence alliance Five Eyes said Wednesday.

Microsoft said in a statement that the group, known as Volt Typhoon, “is pursuing development of capabilities that could disrupt critical communications infrastructure between the United States and Asia region during future crises.”

Volt Typhoon has been active since mid-2021, targeting organizations in Guam, a US territory in the Pacific, and elsewhere in the US.

“Affected organizations span the communications, manufacturing, utility, transportation, construction, maritime, government, information technology, and education sectors,” Microsoft said.

The US National Security Agency (NSA) also confirmed the activity on Wednesday in an advisory with the other Five Eyes countries Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

“A PRC (People’s Republic of China) state-sponsored actor is living off the land, using built-in network tools to evade our defenses and leaving no trace behind,” said NSA Cybersecurity Director Rob Joyce in a statement.

The advisory warned other governments and infrastructure operators to take action to detect and secure against Volt Typhoon.

“It is vital that operators of critical national infrastructure take action to prevent attackers hiding on their systems,” said Paul Chichester, the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre director of operations.

Guam, a US territory since 1898, is strategically located in the western Pacific and has naval and air bases, where a total of 6,000 soldiers are deployed. EFE

aaca/tw