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Volt Typhoon: the ‘defining threat of our generation’

Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2024 9:10 am
by AE-NMidlands
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ ... -explainer
interesting article, and quite concerning when you think that "assymetric warfare" seems to involve/include undermining a state's infrastructure. I hadn't read their earlier article explaining it, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ ... astructure which says
Chinese hackers infiltrated plane, train and water systems for five years, US says.
A group known as Volt Typhoon, geared toward sabotage, quietly burrowed into critical US infrastructure networks.

An advanced group of Chinese hackers taking aim at critical US infrastructure has been active for as long as half a decade, American and allied intelligence agencies said in a joint statement on Wednesday.

The US National Security Agency, US cyber watchdog CISA, the FBI and the Transportation Security Administration said that the group known as Volt Typhoon had quietly burrowed into the networks of aviation, rail, mass transit, highway, maritime, pipeline, water and sewage organizations.
None of the organizations were identified by name, but the statement said that US intelligence officials had observed the hackers “maintaining access and footholds within some victim IT environments for at least five years”.

Could have implications for any system controlled via the cloud... like my GivEnergy kit! Let's hope their IT security is up to scratch.

Re: Volt Typhoon: the ‘defining threat of our generation’

Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2024 2:06 pm
by openspaceman
AE-NMidlands wrote: Tue Feb 13, 2024 9:10 am
Could have implications for any system controlled via the cloud... like my GivEnergy kit! Let's hope their IT security is up to scratch.
It's why we replaced hikvision cameras at work 7 years ago and why I want to morph my system away from Growatt battery.

Re: Volt Typhoon: the ‘defining threat of our generation’

Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2024 2:47 pm
by SimonSays
openspaceman wrote: Tue Feb 13, 2024 2:06 pm It's why we replaced hikvision cameras at work 7 years ago and why I want to morph my system away from Growatt battery.
It's possible to remove the Growatt wifi stick (and stop sending data to Growatt servers) without ditching the inverter. There are a couple of options, both involving Home Assistant.

Re: Volt Typhoon: the ‘defining threat of our generation’

Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2024 2:48 pm
by Krill
I'm all for having a functional offline system.

I just wish we had an easy off the self option for Node Red to work with Luxpower inverters. We probably do, just not one that can be implemented by unskilled people such as myself.

Re: Volt Typhoon: the ‘defining threat of our generation’

Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2024 4:31 pm
by openspaceman
SimonSays wrote: Tue Feb 13, 2024 2:47 pm
openspaceman wrote: Tue Feb 13, 2024 2:06 pm It's why we replaced hikvision cameras at work 7 years ago and why I want to morph my system away from Growatt battery.
It's possible to remove the Growatt wifi stick (and stop sending data to Growatt servers) without ditching the inverter. There are a couple of options, both involving Home Assistant.
I don't think I'm clever enough for home assistant.

Re: Volt Typhoon: the ‘defining threat of our generation’

Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2024 5:41 pm
by SimonSays
Solar Assistant may be enough for your needs. I noticed it supports Growatt SPA inverters, but I don't use it myself.

Re: Volt Typhoon: the ‘defining threat of our generation’

Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2024 6:17 pm
by Jinx
I use solar assistant on my growatt, works much more reliably than the stick did, simple guide online worked perfectly, recommended.

As a side note my growatt account had constant password reset requests.