Threat Intelligence Tarot
Major Arcana · 7
China (PLA-linked)
G1017
risk 5/5
The Silent Dragon
Volt Typhoon
BRONZE SILHOUETTE · Vanguard Panda · DEV-0391
CommunicationsEnergyWaterTransportationUS critical infrastructure
Active since ~2021 · Pre-positioning for conflict, Critical infrastructure disruption, Espionage
It does not come to steal your secrets. It comes to be ready. Volt Typhoon burrows into power grids and water systems not to disrupt them now, but to hold the trigger for the moment it is needed.
Tactics & Techniques
RCN
RDV
INI
EXC
PRS
PRV
EVA
CRD
DSC
LAT
COL
C2
EXF
IMP
T1078
Valid Accounts
Defense Evasion
T1133
External Remote Services
Initial Access
T1090.002
External Proxy
Command and Control
T1036
Masquerading
Defense Evasion
T1087
Account Discovery
Discovery
T1134
Access Token Manipulation
Privilege Escalation
Notable Operations
  • US critical infrastructure pre-positioning (2021-present)
  • Guam military communications targeting
  • Five Eyes joint advisory (2023)
  • SOHO router botnet for traffic proxying
Defenses
Reversed: Their Weakness
Living off the land means your presence is only as hidden as the baseline you're mimicking. In environments with strong behavioral baselines, Volt Typhoon's use of native tools becomes the anomaly.

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Data sourced from MITRE ATT&CK. For educational purposes.