World ECR | US sanctions Chinese tech companies over criticism

The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced on December 10 that the United States had identified Chinese cybersecurity company Sichuan Silent and one of its employees for allegedly breaching thousands of firewalls at critical infrastructure companies in a cyberattack in April 2020.

The sanctions target Sichuan Silent Information Technology Company and security researcher Guan Tianfeng for allegedly exploiting previously unknown vulnerabilities to deploy malware to approximately 81,000 firewalls owned by thousands of companies around the world, including 23,000 firewalls in the United States.

Acting Treasury Undersecretary Bradley Smith said: “Today’s actions underscore our commitment to uncovering these malicious cyber activities, many of which pose significant risks to our communities and citizens, and holding them accountable. The responsibility of those behind it.”

The Justice Department released an indictment against Guan, and the State Department offered a $10 million reward for information about him or Sichuan’s silence. The Treasury Department described Sichuan Silent as a contractor whose “core customers” were Chinese intelligence services.

The U.S. Treasury Department stated in a statement that one of the 36 critical infrastructure targets in the United States is an energy company that is conducting drilling operations. If the attack is successful, it “could cause the oil drilling platform to malfunction, resulting in heavy casualties.”

The sanctions block all U.S. properties of designated individuals and prohibit Americans from conducting transactions with them.