The White House disclosed Friday that Chinese state-sponsored hackers have compromised a ninth U.S. telecommunications company, expanding significantly the cyber espionage campaign known as “Salt Typhoon.” The latest intrusion, according to Deputy National Security Adviser Anne Neuberger, has sparked further concerns about China’s growing capability to intercept private communications of American citizens and officials through compromised telecommunications networks. These hacking activities are leading to many disruptions and arguments.
This revelation comes a week after the Biden administration unveiled guidelines to companies about identifying Chinese intrusions into their networks. The campaign already has several victims including eight telecommunications firms and dozens of countries, and it continues to portray a rather comprehensive and coordinated cyber espionage campaign.
US Government Under Cyber Attack
The hackers have access to customer call records and private communications, said the officials, and their focus appears to be on a select group of targets. The FBI has yet to identify any public victims, but sources indicate senior US government officials and major political figures have had their communications compromised.
Neuberger pointed out that the “large number” of people affected is concentrated in the Washington-Virginia area, though no clear number of affected Americans is known. This fits what investigators believe was the hackers’ main goal: finding phone owners and monitoring communications of specific “government targets of interest.”
The FBI assessment has pointed out that most of the targeted individuals were “primarily involved in government or political activity,” which clearly suggests a calculated effort to gather intelligence on U.S. political and governmental operations. The sophisticated nature of the attack has drawn special attention, with officials pointing out that the Chinese operators employed careful techniques to avoid detection.
In response to the breach, the Federal Communications Commission will convene in a session next month to deliberate on mandatory cybersecurity practices for the telecommunications industry. Neuberger believes that the voluntary cybersecurity measures currently being applied are not sufficient to ward off threats from such nations as China, Russia, and Iran.
“We know that voluntary cyber security practices are inadequate to protect against China, Russia, and Iran hacking of our critical infrastructure,” Neuberger said, indicating a possible shift toward more stringent regulatory requirements for the industry.
China Denies Involvement in Hacking Campaign
The White House has said it is preparing further steps to retaliate against the hacking campaign but would not detail them. These steps are a form of response to what, in light of the incident, is now a critical national security issue.
The Chinese government has denied involvement in the Salt Typhoon campaign, saying that it maintains its standard position of denying any accusations of state-sponsored cyber espionage. However, the scale and sophistication of the operation, combined with its focus on politically sensitive targets, have led U.S. officials to firmly attribute the campaign to Chinese state actors.
The newest news related to the Salt Typhoon campaign reflects the persistent struggles that U.S. efforts toward cybersecurity face, underlining the urgent necessity for increased protection of the telecommunication infrastructure. With ongoing changes in the situation, it also serves as a chilling reminder of persistent threats in state-sponsored cyber operations, coupled with the growing demands of a connected world requiring increased resilience in defensive measures.
