Nashville Standard

House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark E. Green, Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Chairman Andrew Garbarino, and Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability Chairman Josh Brecheen have initiated an oversight process regarding the federal response to cyber intrusions attributed to "Volt Typhoon" and "Salt Typhoon." These are advanced persistent threat actors reportedly backed by the People's Republic of China.

The Chairmen sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem seeking information about the government's actions in response to these threats since January 20, 2021. They specifically requested documents related to when DHS and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) became aware of these threats and their subsequent responses.

In their letter, they stated: “Last year, Volt and Salt Typhoon grabbed headlines for successfully compromising U.S. critical infrastructure with sophisticated tactics...Despite officials raising the alarm about Volt and Salt Typhoon, we still know very little about them...we remain gravely concerned that the Biden Administration failed to mitigate these significant threats posed by the PRC."

They further noted that former CISA Director Jen Easterly had acknowledged efforts focused on deterring China's cyber activities but criticized what they termed as a lack of transparency from the Biden Administration regarding its handling of these incidents.

“The extent of Volt Typhoon’s activities became public more than a year ago," they concluded. "It is the Committee’s hope that the Trump Administration will provide the American people with confidence that their government is taking every step possible to mitigate the impact of Volt and Salt Typhoon on government entities and businesses."

Background details reveal that in October 2024, Green and Garbarino requested a briefing from CISA and FBI concerning "Salt Typhoon," which targeted major internet service providers. Additionally, during a hearing in Congress's 119th session, experts highlighted ongoing cybersecurity vulnerabilities exploited by state-sponsored actors like China.

Further legislative measures include H.R. 9769 introduced by Rep. Laurel Lee alongside Green and John Moolenaar aiming to establish an interagency task force addressing such cybersecurity threats.

The Chairmen previously issued statements regarding "Volt Typhoon" following advisories from agencies including NSA, CISA, FBI, detailing surveillance-related compromises in U.S. infrastructure.