US sanctions China's Integrity Technology over alleged hacking sweep

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. on Friday sanctioned China's Integrity Technology Group, accusing it of being behind a prolific hacking group known as "Flax Typhoon."

In a statement, the State Department said that Integrity Tech was a large Chinese government contractor with ties to the Ministry of State Security and that its hackers were working at the direction of Beijing to target critical infrastructure in the U.S. and overseas.

Western officials have previously been accused The Beijing-based company of being behind Flax Typhoon. In September, FBI Director Christopher Wray accused the company of having "collected intelligence and performed reconnaissance for Chinese government security agencies."

In an advisory published at the same time, U.S., British, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand cyber officials accused Integrity of having compromised more than 250,000 devices around the world.

Chinese officials have previously accused the U.S. and its allies of having "jumped to an unwarranted conclusion and made groundless accusations against China" in relation to Integrity and Flax Typhoon.

The hacking group is one of a series of Chinese cyberespionage actors who drawn scrutiny in recent months over targeting of sensitive data and critical infrastructure. Others include groups nicknamed "Volt Typhoon," which American officials fear is preparing for conflict with the U.S., and "Salt Typhoon," which has burrowed into U.S. telecom companies.

Last week, U.S. Treasury officials said an unnamed Chinese hacking group had broken into the Department's computers and compromised an undisclosed amount of data. The target was Treasury's sanctions office, the Washington Post later reported.

(Reporting by Katharine Jackson, Daphne Psaledakis, and Raphael Satter; Editing by Caitlin Webber and David Gregorio)