Threat Actor 🇨🇳 China

Volt Typhoon

Also known as: BRONZE SILHOUETTE · VANGUARD PANDA · UNC3236 · Insidious Taurus · VOLTZITE · Dev-0391 · Storm-0391

[Microsoft] Volt Typhoon, a state-sponsored actor based in China that typically focuses on espionage and information gathering. Microsoft assesses with moderate confidence that this Volt Typhoon campaign is pursuing development of capabilities that could disrupt critical communications infrastructure between the United States and Asia region during future crises. [Secureworks] BRONZE SILHOUETTE likely operates on behalf the PRC. The targeting of U.S. government and defense organizations for intelligence gain aligns with PRC requirements, and the tradecraft observed in these engagements overlap with other state-sponsored Chinese threat groups.

MITRE ATT&CK TTPs 5

T1059.001
PowerShell
Execution
 T1078
Valid Accounts
Defense Evasion
 T1190
Exploit Public-Facing Application
Initial Access
 T1210
Exploitation of Remote Services
Lateral Movement
 T1499
Endpoint Denial of Service
Impact

Source Articles

New InfraTrust report reveals infrastructure flaws admins should patch first
The July 2026 InfraTrust Pulse report by Eclypsium highlights critical infrastructure vulnerabilities that administrators should prioritize, focusing on those that are actively exploited, remotely accessible, or unauthenticated. Key vendors affected include SonicWall, Fortinet, Dell, F5, Juniper, and NVIDIA, with flaws impacting network edge devices, data center infrastructure, and firmware components. Russian and Chinese state-sponsored actors are increasingly targeting such infrastructure, as seen in campaigns linked to Volt Typhoon and Salt Typhoon. The report emphasizes risk-based prioritization over CVSS scores alone, noting that internet-exposed flaws pose significant real-world threats even if their severity scores are lower.
bleeping-computer ·6d ago
Closing the Identity Gaps in Critical Infrastructure Security
The article discusses the persistent threat to critical infrastructure from state-backed actors like Volt Typhoon, who exploit weak identity controls and compromised credentials to gain access and maintain long-term persistence. It highlights the Colonial Pipeline attack as an example of how a single unsecured VPN account can lead to widespread disruption. The focus is on the need for zero trust principles, particularly stronger identity and device verification, to defend against credential theft, living-off-the-land techniques, and unauthorized access through unmanaged devices.
bleeping-computer ·1w ago