On October 14, China released its third report accusing the United States of fabricating the so-called “Volt Typhoon” narrative. Despite the direct allegations made in the report, as of the early hours of October 16, both the U.S. Embassy in China and Microsoft had not responded to inquiries from the Global Times, maintaining silence. According to Bloomberg, neither the U.S. State Department nor Microsoft provided answers to their requests for comment.
The latest report, jointly released by the National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center and other Chinese agencies, highlights the U.S. focus on promoting the “Volt Typhoon” narrative as a means to distract from its own cyberattack activities. This marks the third time China has issued such a report, following disclosures on April 15 and July 8 that revealed “Volt Typhoon” as a global ransomware organization. It was alleged that U.S. intelligence and cybersecurity sectors conspired to spread disinformation to secure congressional funding and government contracts while framing China.
After the first two reports, U.S. federal agencies, mainstream media, and Microsoft remained notably silent. However, a number of individuals, including former and current officials from U.S. intelligence and cybersecurity agencies, such as Robert Joyce, have spoken out, asserting that the “Volt Typhoon” group is continuing its cyberattacks, while conveniently ignoring the evidence presented in the previous reports.
Following the publication of the latest report, a reporter from Global Times reached out via email to the U.S. Embassy and Microsoft, seeking their responses to the allegations of creating a false narrative regarding “Volt Typhoon” and the claim that the U.S. is using this narrative to obscure its own cyber activities. As of the publication date, there has been no response from either party.
Zhuo Hua, an expert in international relations at Beijing Foreign Studies University, remarked on October 15 that the U.S. government lacks credible counterarguments and has resorted to silence. “Whether it’s past global cyber surveillance and espionage activities targeting allies or misinformation campaigns against China, the facts are clear. Such state-sponsored large-scale cyber threats could even rise to the level of cyber terrorism. Even in the face of solid evidence, it is unlikely that the U.S. government will openly admit to these allegations.”
The report noted that after its release, over 50 cybersecurity experts from the U.S., Europe, and Asia reached out to express their belief that the connection made between “Volt Typhoon” and the Chinese government lacks valid evidence. Zhuo commented that the interest from foreign citizens in this campaign of U.S. disinformation demonstrates a persistent distrust of the U.S. government, even amid efforts to conceal the truth. “The revelations from incidents like ‘Prism’ show that, despite attempts to suppress the issue for years, Western citizens still want to uncover the facts and truths about current international cybersecurity.”
About the author