Connect with us

Business

U.S. Hits Chinese Cybersecurity Company With Sanctions After Breach

Published

on

U.S. Hits Chinese Cybersecurity Company With Sanctions After Breach

The Treasury Department imposed sanctions on a Beijing-based cybersecurity company on Friday, blaming it for helping Chinese hackers infiltrate U.S. communications systems and conduct surveillance across four continents.

In an announcement, the department said the company, Integrity Technology Group, had supported a Chinese state-sponsored hacking group known as Flax Typhoon in a campaign to break into foreign networks between the summer of 2022 and 2023, saying it found the group had “routinely sent and received information from Integrity Tech infrastructure.”

The action came after the Treasury Department revealed in a letter to lawmakers this week that a Chinese intelligence agency had breached its systems in what appeared to be an espionage operation, gaining access to the workstations of government employees and unclassified documents.

A spokesman for the department did not specify whether Flax Typhoon had been implicated in the attack on the Treasury Department’s systems, or whether the sanctions were merely part of a larger operation to disrupt China’s cybercapabilities.

The sanctions also follow the much more damaging revelation last year that a group linked to Chinese intelligence agencies and known as Salt Typhoon had hacked U.S. telecommunications networks, targeting the telephone conversations and text messages of an array of top political figures, including President-elect Donald J. Trump.

Advertisement

Like Salt Typhoon, Flax Typhoon is among a handful of groups that Microsoft has publicly identified as being linked to Chinese intelligence and responsible for a range of state-sponsored cyberattacks. The group has been active since 2021 and appears focused on targets in Taiwan and the United States, according to the Congressional Research Service.

“The Treasury Department will not hesitate to hold malicious cyberactors and their enablers accountable for their actions,” Bradley T. Smith, an acting under secretary of the Treasury, said in a statement. “The United States will use all available tools to disrupt these threats as we continue working collaboratively to harden public and private sector cyberdefenses.”

In September, the F.B.I. said it had taken down a network of 200,000 consumer devices in the United States and abroad that had been compromised with malware and weaponized by Flax Typhoon.

The sanctions announced on Friday generally prohibit financial institutions and individuals from transacting with Integrity Technology Group, and freeze any of its assets in the United States.

It was not immediately clear what the breach of the Treasury Department may have achieved, but the agency represents an attractive target for state-sponsored hackers because of its Office of Foreign Assets Control, which is responsible for imposing sanctions and determining which individuals represent a threat to national security.

Advertisement

Business

Video: How the Government Shutdown Is Affecting Air Travel

Published

on

Video: How the Government Shutdown Is Affecting Air Travel

new video loaded: How the Government Shutdown Is Affecting Air Travel

Niraj Chokshi, our reporter covering transportation, describes where and how flights are being cut in the government shutdown.

By Niraj Chokshi, Karen Hanley, Leila Medina and James Surdam

November 8, 2025

Continue Reading

Business

Presents to arrive in time for the holidays, but may be more expensive

Published

on

Presents to arrive in time for the holidays, but may be more expensive

Consumers don’t have to worry about products arriving in time for the holidays, though they may be facing higher prices, say officials at one of America’s largest ports.

Imports at the Port of Long Beach are flowing smoothly through its facilities despite the government shutdown and tariff uncertainties, port executives said. Still, they acknowledge that the volume and prices of products in the millions of containers coming through the port suggest that imports are becoming more costly and consumers are more cautious.

Until now, retailers, manufacturers and other intermediaries have absorbed much of the cost of tariffs, but that is changing as it becomes more apparent which tariffs are here to stay, Mario Cordero, chief executive of the Port of Long Beach, said Friday during a virtual news conference.

“Consumers will likely see price escalation in the coming months as shippers continue to pass along the cost of tariffs on goods, and a higher percentage of these costs will be passed on to the consumer,” he said.

Cordero, who drinks Starbucks coffee, said he’s seen the price of a cup of coffee increase by 15% and that more consumers are going to discount stores to find deals. However, potential price hikes could be offset if the United States and China strike further trade agreements.

Advertisement

The Port of Long Beach, a gateway for trade between the United States and Asia-Pacific, released new data that offers a glimpse into how President Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs are affecting goods imported from key trade partners, such as China.

This week, the U.S. Supreme Court also started to hear arguments as the justices examine the legality of Trump’s tariffs.

Over the past year, the port saw a drop in the movement of containers filled with certain goods such as winter apparel, kitchen appliances and toys that people typically buy as gifts, a sign that consumers are likely wary about spending.

Still, the impact of tariffs on cargo volume hasn’t been as bad as some experts predicted. Cordero said some experts had projected that the port could see as much as a 35% drop in cargo volume.

“Clearly today, it’s fair to say that the worst scenarios some predicted did not occur,” Cordero said. “The challenges were many, and there’s no doubt that many companies and their workers suffered, but cargo volume is turning out to be just as high this year as it was last year.”

Advertisement

In fiscal year 2025, which runs from October 2024 to September 2025, the port surpassed 10 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) for the first time, up 11% from the same period last year. TEU is a measurement used to describe cargo capacity for container ships and terminals.

While the port saw a decline in the amount of TEUs moved in October compared with the same period in 2024, Cordero said he thinks the port will end 2025 in “positive territory.”

In October, there were 839,671 TEUs moved. That’s because retailers and shippers started shipping goods earlier than normal to avoid fees and to stock up their warehouses because of tariffs.

The Port of Long Beach is an economic engine for California. Officials say it helps create 691,000 jobs in Southern California. More than 2.7 million U.S jobs are connected to the Port of Long Beach, they say.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Business

See Where Flights Have Been Canceled as Government Shutdown Drags On

Published

on

See Where Flights Have Been Canceled as Government Shutdown Drags On

Flight cancellations on Friday

Advertisement

Note: International routes and airports are not shown. Cancellations at airports include flights that were planned to depart or arrive. Source: Cirium. The New York Times

Advertisement

Hundreds of flights across the United States were canceled starting on Friday, with deeper cuts looming in the coming days.

Federal Aviation Administration and Transportation Department officials have said the traffic reduction is necessary to ease pressure on air traffic controllers, some of whom have been calling in sick and working second jobs because they have not been paid during the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

Advertisement

The officials identified 40 airports where flights should be cut in phases, with the goal of reducing activity by 10 percent by the end of next week.

The disruptions have rippled to other airports but, at least so far, they have appeared to be relatively limited. Airlines focused the first wave of cancellations on shorter, regional flights, and major airports were working largely as normal on Friday. But widespread concern that the situation could worsen brought home the effects of the government shutdown to many more Americans.

The reduction in traffic comes weeks before the busy holiday travel season begins in the United States. The airports that have already been affected range from large hubs to smaller destinations. They are in blue states and red states, spread across the country.

Advertisement

Here is a look at how cuts at affected airports compare to cancellations at those hubs this time last year:

Advertisement

Share of scheduled flights that were canceled on Friday and throughout Nov. 2024

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Washington Reagan

17.4%

Advertisement

151 of 869 flights

0.2%

Advertisement

Louisville

8%

12 of 150

Advertisement

0.1%

Cincinnati

Advertisement

7.2%

18 of 250

Advertisement

0.2%

Houston Hobby

Advertisement

6%

20 of 336

0.4%

Advertisement

Indianapolis

5.7%

Advertisement

17 of 297

0.2%

Oakland

5.4%

Advertisement

11 of 203

0.4%

Advertisement

Boston

4.8%

46 of 960

Advertisement

0.1%

Newark

Advertisement

4.5%

42 of 940

Advertisement

0.4%

New York JFK

Advertisement

4.5%

41 of 913

0%

Advertisement

New York LaGuardia

4.5%

Advertisement

47 of 1,045

0.1%

Minneapolis/St. Paul

4.5%

Advertisement

35 of 784

0.1%

Advertisement

Detroit

4.3%

35 of 806

Advertisement

0.1%

Philadelphia

Advertisement

4.3%

30 of 701

Advertisement

0.1%

San Francisco

Advertisement

4.3%

41 of 960

1.2%

Advertisement

Atlanta

4.2%

Advertisement

84 of 1,979

0.1%

Los Angeles

3.9%

Advertisement

50 of 1,274

0.3%

Advertisement

Denver

3.6%

67 of 1,866

Advertisement

1.4%

Ontario

Advertisement

3.6%

6 of 168

Advertisement

0.7%

Phoenix

Advertisement

3.6%

44 of 1,206

0.3%

Advertisement

Chicago O’Hare

3.5%

Advertisement

82 of 2,313

0.3%

San Diego

3.5%

Advertisement

22 of 627

0.4%

Advertisement

Dallas-Fort Worth

3.4%

62 of 1,810

Advertisement

1.7%

Tampa

Advertisement

3.4%

17 of 493

Advertisement

0.2%

Baltimore-Washington

Advertisement

3.2%

18 of 562

0.2%

Advertisement

Washington Dulles

3.2%

Advertisement

20 of 619

0.2%

Salt Lake City

3.2%

Advertisement

21 of 650

0.2%

Advertisement

Charlotte

3.1%

41 of 1,327

Advertisement

0.1%

George Bush Houston

Advertisement

3.1%

35 of 1,112

Advertisement

0.2%

Memphis

Advertisement

3.1%

5 of 160

0.2%

Advertisement

Fort Lauderdale

2.8%

Advertisement

16 of 564

0.1%

Dallas Love Field

2.7%

Advertisement

11 of 402

0.9%

Advertisement

Orlando

2.7%

27 of 1,001

Advertisement

0.2%

Miami

Advertisement

2.7%

23 of 839

Advertisement

0.1%

Honolulu

Advertisement

2.5%

10 of 400

0.3%

Advertisement

Las Vegas Reid

2.5%

Advertisement

29 of 1,138

0.3%

Chicago Midway

2.5%

Advertisement

10 of 405

0.3%

Advertisement

Portland (Ore.)

2.3%

10 of 438

Advertisement

0.5%

Seattle-Tacoma

Advertisement

2.3%

24 of 1,033

Advertisement

0.5%

Anchorage

Advertisement

1%

2 of 201

1.3%

Advertisement

Teterboro

0%

Advertisement

0 of 8

No data

Advertisement

Note: Cancellations at airports include flights that were planned departures or arrivals. Sources: Cirium (Nov. 2025) and Federal Aviation Administration (Nov. 2024). The New York Times

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending