(Reuters) – A China state-sponsored hacking group had breached Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel) in June as a part of a global campaign targeting telecom companies and critical infrastructure operators, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday.
Investigators believe that the breach was carried out by a hacking group nicknamed Volt Typhoon, Bloomberg said, citing two people familiar with the matter.
“Our protective and detective measures picked up the malware and eradicated it, and this was reported to the relevant authorities,” a Singtel spokesperson told Reuters by email.
Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, told Bloomberg he wasn’t aware of the specifics, as relayed by the agency, but that, in general, China firmly opposes and combats cyberattacks and cybertheft. The embassy did not immediately respond to a Reuters email seeking comment.
Volt Typhoon has infiltrated critical U.S. infrastructure sectors, including telecoms and energy, although China has said its cybersecurity agencies had published evidence to show the group was staged by an international ransomware organization.
Bloomberg reported Singtel’s breach is believed to have been a test by China for future cyberattacks on U.S. telecom firms.
Information gleaned from the incident has offered insights into the growing range of suspected Chinese cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure overseas, the report said.
(Reporting by Roshan Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza)
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