The Justice Department said it seized domains used with scanning and spear-phishing tools it attributes to operators working for China's Integrity Technology Group.
US officials said on Thursday they are seizing seven internet domains in a new effort to disrupt hackers working with Chinese IT firm Integrity Technology Group. Reuters reported the Justice Department statement that the domains were used to help Chinese hackers scan and hack US and foreign critical infrastructure systems.
The department said the move was the second public effort to disrupt Integrity Tech's hacking infrastructure. In September 2024 it announced the court-authorized disruption of an Integrity Tech botnet of more than 250,000 compromised consumer devices. Then-FBI Director Christopher Wray said at the time that Integrity Tech was behind a group nicknamed Flax Typhoon and was carrying out intelligence collection and reconnaissance for Beijing's security agencies.
A Justice Department release said the seizures deny access to two tools, Microscan and FishHub, used to scan and in some cases hack networks. Court documents unsealed in the Western District of Pennsylvania allege that actors working for Integrity Tech, which has contracts with the Chinese government, operated the tools. The FBI's Brett Leatherman said the company provided China-linked actors with capabilities used for widespread vulnerability scanning and, in some cases, intrusions.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately return a Reuters message seeking comment after business hours on Thursday. Beijing routinely denies carrying out hacking operations, Reuters noted.
The public record so far is the seizure announcement and the unsealed allegations. No Chinese government response was included in the Reuters report.
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- Brett Leatherman said Integrity Technology Group provided China-linked actors with scanning and intrusion tools.
- Beijing routinely denies carrying out hacking operations, Reuters reported.