Singtel has detected and ‘eradicated’ malware said to be from a Chinese hacking group

SINGAPORE: Singtel said it had detected and “eradicated” malware that it believed came from Chinese state-sponsored hackers.

It was responding to a Bloomberg report on Tuesday (Nov 5) that said Singtel had been “breached” by a hacking group known as Volt Typhoon.

Citing two people familiar with the matter, the report said the incident was discovered in June and is part of a broader campaign against telecommunications companies and other critical infrastructure around the world.

Asked about the Bloomberg report, Singtel told CNA on Tuesday: “Like any other large organization and key infrastructure service provider around the world, we are constantly probed.

“Our protection and detective measures have picked up the malware and eradicated it, and this has been reported to the relevant authorities.”

The Cyber ​​Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) said they understood from Singtel that no services were affected and no data loss was reported.

“In this case, early detection and mitigation measures were in place,” the two government agencies said in a joint statement.

“Based on current investigations, the threat has been addressed and the overall telecommunications infrastructure remains secure and unaffected.”

Singtel is the largest telecommunications operator in Singapore. Its subsidiary Optus is the second largest operator in Australia.

US officials said in May that they had confronted the Chinese government about a large-scale cyber espionage campaign involving Volt Typhoon.

Target operation US critical infrastructure entities — from telecommunications networks to transportation hubs — and could be used against the United States in a future geopolitical crisis, officials said.

China’s goals were to take advantage of the access it has gained into American organizations in the event of war or conflict, according to US officials. The Chinese have denied these allegations.

In October, the Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese hackers had accessed the networks of US broadband providers and accessed systems used by the federal government for wiretapping.

Singtel said on Tuesday that network resilience is critical to its business, adding that it works with security partners to monitor and address the threats it faces on a daily basis.

“We also regularly review and improve our cybersecurity capabilities and posture to protect our critical assets from evolving threats,” the telco said.