The FBI has seized seven domains used by Chinese state-sponsored hackers known as Flax Typhoon to operate two hacking tools, MicroScan and FishHub, used in attacks that breached critical infrastructure and other organizations worldwide.
The seizures targeted infrastructure supporting the two hacking platforms allegedly operated by China-based Integrity Technology Group (Integrity Tech), which U.S. authorities say has contracts with the Chinese government.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the tools were used to scan for vulnerabilities and breach critical infrastructure networks in the United States and other countries.
"Integrity Technology Group provided China-linked threat actors with capabilities used to conduct widespread vulnerability scanning and, in some cases, intrusions targeting U.S. and foreign critical infrastructure," said Brett Leatherman, assistant director of the FBI's Cyber Division.
Leatherman said the Chinese government relies on contractors and other companies to expand the reach of their cyber operations, and that disrupting these organizations makes it harder for China-linked hackers to target American networks.
MicroScan is a vulnerability-scanning platform developed by Integrity Tech to identify security weaknesses in targeted networks.
According to an FBI seizure affidavit, the platform was used along with a botnet of internet-connected devices infected with Mirai malware to scan potential targets.