House Committee Demands Documents On DHS Response To Chinese Hacking Groups

• House Homeland Security Committee has requested documents from DHS related to Chinese state-backed Hacker groups Volt Typhoon and Salt Typhoon targeting U.S. critical infrastructure.
• Lawmakers expressed concern that the Biden administration failed to effectively address and provide transparency about these Cybersecurity threats.
• Chinese Hacking groups have been infiltrating telecommunications networks and critical infrastructure for years, potentially positioning themselves for disruptive attacks during a U.S.-China conflict. Congressional lawmakers are demanding answers about the U.S. government’s response to persistent Chinese state-sponsored cyberattacks that have targeted critical infrastructure and telecommunications networks. The House Homeland Security Committee has formally requested all documents related to the Department of Homeland Security’s handling of the Volt Typhoon and Salt Typhoon hacking campaigns dating back to January 2021.

The request, detailed in a letter obtained by The Epoch Times, was signed by Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.) along with two subcommittee chairs. The lawmakers have given DHS Secretary Kristi Noem until March 31 to provide all emails and internal memos concerning the Chinese hacking groups.

Committee members expressed significant concerns about the previous administration’s handling of these cyber threats, stating: “Despite officials raising the alarm about Volt and Salt Typhoon, we still know very little about them—except that Volt Typhoon, in particular, continues to compromise our critical infrastructure.”

The committee’s investigation specifically cited delays in the Biden administration’s response to these threats. According to the letter, officials postponed a briefing on Salt Typhoon for approximately one month until the Wall Street Journal published a report exposing the hacker’s activities.

“These threat actors pose significant challenges that cannot be addressed overnight,” the letter stated. “The Biden administration’s lack of transparency surrounding the federal government’s response to Volt and Salt Typhoon, however, was unacceptable and disconcerting.”

Salt Typhoon has conducted widespread espionage operations since 2022, successfully breaching at least nine major U.S. telecommunications companies, according to former deputy national security adviser Anne Neuberger in December 2024. The group reportedly targeted President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance in September 2024. Vance previously stated that Chinese Hackers had compromised his cellphone through back-end infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Volt Typhoon has been targeting U.S. critical infrastructure networks since 2021. Microsoft identified the group’s activities in 2023, noting in a report that the actors were likely developing capabilities to “disrupt critical communications infrastructure between the United States and Asia region during future crises.”

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a concerning advisory in February 2024, revealing that Volt Typhoon had maintained access to some victim networks for at least five years. The advisory warned that Chinese state-sponsored hackers were “pre-positioning themselves on IT networks for disruptive or destructive cyberattacks against U.S. critical infrastructure in the event of a major crisis or conflict with the United States.”

Following Trump’s inauguration on January 20, the Department of Homeland Security terminated several advisory committees, including the Cyber Safety Review Board, which had been investigating Salt Typhoon threats under the Biden administration. Acting DHS Secretary Benjamine Huffman explained this decision aligned with efforts to end “the misuse of resources” and refocus department activities on national security priorities.

The House committee is seeking comprehensive information about when federal agencies first detected these threats, the extent of damage caused, and the timeline of government responses to the intrusions. They have also requested documentation of actions taken with relevant agencies, industry stakeholders, and victims after the threats were identified.

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