On Thursday, Microsoft stated that Flax Typhoon, a China-based group of hackers, has attacked Taiwan government agencies with the possible purpose of spying on them.
Taiwan has long blamed China — which declares the self-ruled island as its territory — for spying through cyberattacks on its government networks.
Flax Typhoon has since 2021 specifically targeted government agencies and education, essential manufacturing, and information technology associations in Taiwan, Microsoft said.
In a blog post, Microsoft said that the China-based firm plans to perform spying and uphold access to organizations across a wide range of industries for as long as possible.
“However, Microsoft has not observed Flax Typhoon act on final purposes in this movement.”
Flax Typhoon has also attacked vital manufacturing and information technology associations in Taiwan, the Tech giant added. Outside Taiwan, some other nations were the victims of Flax Typhoon, Southeast Asia, North America, and Africa, it added.
Flex Typhoon hackers’ aiming intelligence had breached the email accounts of several US government agencies, Microsoft said last month.
Microsoft made certain mention of Guam, a US Pacific region with a vital military base, as a target.
Authorities in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK have also alerted that Chinese hacking is likely taking place globally.
