The Rise of Typhoon Cyber Groups

Threats to Critical Infrastructure and the Role of Infrastructure Intelligence

While cybersecurity has generally been top-of-mind, and many reports outline both increasing attacks and increasingly complexity of attacks,  among the most concerning adversaries are the Typhoon cyber groups, a collection of advanced persistent threat (APT) actors attributed to China. These groups, including Salt Typhoon and others, have demonstrated a growing capability to target and compromise critical infrastructure on a global scale. Understanding how they operate, the tactics they use, and how infrastructure intelligence can help defend against their attacks is crucial for national security, organizational protection, and economic stability.

The Growing Threat of Typhoon Cyber Groups

Typhoon cyber groups are expanding their reach and sophistication, conducting cyber espionage and disruptive attacks across industries such as telecommunications, energy, finance, and government institutions. Their targets are often high-value entities where a single breach can have widespread consequences. Salt, Silk, Volt, Nylon, and Others --- these groups leverage advanced techniques such as supply chain compromises, exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities, and using legitimate administrative tools to blend in with normal network activity.

One of the most notable groups, Salt Typhoon, has been linked to a series of high-profile breaches. Their focus on telecommunications providers has allowed them to intercept vast amounts of metadata and, in some cases, even gain access to audio recordings of phone calls. These attacks indicate an intent to surveil key individuals, disrupt national security, and undermine trust in critical communication networks.

Attacking Critical Infrastructure

The most alarming aspect of Typhoon cyber groups is their focus on critical infrastructure. These attacks can have devastating consequences, from power grid failures and communication blackouts to financial market disruptions and national security breaches. Some of the key sectors targeted include:

• Telecommunications: Typhoon groups have infiltrated telecom networks to monitor communications, extract sensitive data, and potentially disrupt services.
• Energy and Utilities: Attacks on energy providers can cripple electricity distribution, water supply systems, and oil and gas pipelines, leading to economic instability and safety risks.
• Financial Systems: By targeting banks, stock exchanges, and payment processors, these groups can disrupt economic activities, manipulate transactions, and conduct financial espionage.
• Government and Defense: Espionage efforts have targeted military and government institutions, potentially compromising classified information and national security strategies.

The convergence of cyber and physical threats highlights the need for proactive defense measures, as a single cyberattack could cascade into real-world disruptions that affect millions.

The Role of Infrastructure Intelligence in Cyber Defense

To counter the growing threat of Typhoon cyber groups, infrastructure intelligence has emerged as a critical required capability. By understanding their use of infrastructure, organizations can detect threats early, track adversary techniques and tactics, and proactively defend against attacks.

1. Detecting Attacks Early Infrastructure intelligence enables security teams to monitor network activity for signs of compromise. By monitoring outbound DNS traffic, seeing the unusual destination requests, and anomalous behaviors, and organizations can identify potential intrusions before they escalate, even from new endpoints like IoT devices.
2. Understanding Command-and-Control (C2) Operations Typhoon groups rely on command-and-control (C2) infrastructure to coordinate their attacks, exfiltrate data, and deploy malware. Infrastructure intelligence helps shine a light on these C2 domains and related infrastructure, allowing security teams to disrupt adversary communications and neutralize threats before they cause significant damage.
3. Proactive Protection Measures Traditional cybersecurity approaches often focus on reactive responses, but infrastructure intelligence shifts the paradigm to proactive defense and overall resiliency, allowing organizations to harden themselves against emerging threats, reducing the likelihood of a successful attack.

Strengthening Cyber Resilience

The growing capabilities of Typhoon cyber groups underscore the urgent need for comprehensive cybersecurity strategies. Governments and organizations must prioritize investments in infrastructure intelligence, strengthen cross-sector collaboration, and adopt a proactive mindset in defending against cyber threats.

It’s exactly for this reason that HYAS has focused on being the expert in infrastructure intelligence and related indicators of compromise (IOCs).  The power of HYAS and our unique visibility into “VRA” or Verdicts, Related Infrastructure, and Actor Attribution & Information, provides organizations worldwide not just with an ability to get proactive in ways that they just can’t without but provides key intelligence for their overall security approach.  As one vCISO said of HYAS, “I have a ton of tools. But none of them do what HYAS does. You are the glue that connects all other intel tools.”

Conclusion

Typhoon cyber groups represent a persistent and evolving threat to global security. Their focus on critical infrastructure, combined with their sophisticated attack methodologies, makes them formidable adversaries. However, by leveraging infrastructure intelligence, understanding their tactics, and taking proactive measures, organizations can enhance their cyber resilience and protect vital systems from devastating attacks. The future of cybersecurity depends on staying ahead of these threats through continuous innovation, collaboration, and vigilance.