The White House has officially verified that a ninth U.S. telecommunications corporation has been targeted by the ‘Salt Typhoon’ operation, an advanced cyber intrusion linked to Chinese hackers.
This security breach, now affecting a minimum of nine major telecom providers in the U.S., has resulted in hackers pilfering metadata and, in some instances, the substance of phone conversations and text messages, sparking concerns regarding national security and privacy.
Commencing in 2022, the ‘Salt Typhoon‘ endeavor has taken advantage of susceptibilities in devices including routers, switches, and firewalls controlled by telecommunications titans such as AT&T, Verizon, and Lumen Technologies.
By attaining continual entry to these networks, hackers have managed to amass extensive data, including metadata delineating the communication behaviors of individuals and, on certain occasions, intercept the factual content of communications.
Anne Neuberger, Deputy National Security Adviser, disclosed that the infiltrators succeeded in breaching the communications of significant U.S. governmental figures and political dignitaries, though she assured that ‘classified communications’ remained safeguarded.
Campaign Targeted Individuals
The operation has focused on a significant array of individuals, intending to pinpoint government targets for subsequent espionage and intelligence aggregation, according to an AP News report.
The FBI has highlighted that the intruders acquired metadata detailing “where, when, and with whom specific individuals were interacting,” potentially unveiling sensitive counterintelligence maneuvers.
This security breach has also endangered covert systems utilized by law enforcement for court-authorized observation, introducing a further stratum of intricacy into the predicament.
The assault’s extent is extensive, as the hackers have gained “comprehensive and unrestricted access” to American data, enabling them to geographically position millions of individuals and document phone conversations at their discretion. Neuberger emphasized that while the number of individuals directly targeted for communication theft was likely fewer than 100, the repercussions on privacy and security are substantial.
In reaction to these infractions, the U.S. government has initiated multiple measures. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is being encouraged to formalize fresh security prerequisites for phone carriers, shifting away from voluntary cybersecurity methodologies that have proven inadequate against state-level actors like China.
Furthermore, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), in collaboration with the National Security Agency (NSA), has established a collaborative group to tackle threats to U.S. national security and essential infrastructure.
The Department of Health and Human Services is poised to propose new regulations to bolster security requirements under HIPAA, striving to shield healthcare data from similar cyber dangers.
This occurrence spotlights the persistent shortcomings in organizational cybersecurity approaches, as alluded by cybersecurity specialist Richard Forno, who characterized the intrusion as “remarkable in its scope and intensity.” The U.S. is now concentrating on holding China answerable and collaborating with telecom enterprises to refine cybersecurity recommendations to avert subsequent large-scale hacking campaigns.
The article was originally published on Cyber Security News.