Firewall Fiasco: U.S. Charges Chinese Hacker in Global Cyberattack Scandal
The US government has charged Chinese national Guan Tianfeng for allegedly hacking 81,000 Sophos firewalls worldwide. Known online as gbigmao, Tianfeng is accused of exploiting a critical zero-day vulnerability. The US offers a $10 million reward for information on Tianfeng and his employer, Sichuan Silence Technology Company Ltd.
Hot Take:
Well, it seems the US government is playing a high-stakes game of “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?” with a twist of firewall flavor. Who knew firewalls could be this spicy? Keep your SQL injections to the salad bar, folks!
Key Points:
- Chinese national Guan Tianfeng charged with conspiracy to commit computer and wire fraud.
- Allegedly hacked 81,000 Sophos firewall devices worldwide in 2020 using a zero-day vulnerability.
- Vulnerability tracked as CVE-2020-12271, a critical SQL injection flaw with a CVSS score of 9.8.
- Federal arrest warrant issued; Tianfeng believed to be in Sichuan Province, China.
- US offering $10 million reward for information leading to his capture and activities.
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