WASHINGTON — A ninth U.S. telecommunications company has been identified as a victim of a widespread Chinese hacking operation, which has allowed Chinese officials to access private text messages and phone calls of an unspecified number of Americans, according to a senior official from the White House on Friday.
Officials from the Biden administration previously announced that a total of eight telecom firms and numerous countries were impacted by this extensive hacking initiative referred to as Salt Typhoon. However, Deputy National Security Adviser Anne Neuberger revealed during a press conference that the discovery of the ninth victim followed the issuance of guidance to companies on detecting Chinese intruders within their systems.
Neuberger’s update marks another significant development in a large-scale cyber attack that has raised alarms among national security officials, highlighting weaknesses in the private sector’s cybersecurity measures and demonstrating the advanced methods used by Chinese hackers. These intruders breached the networks of telecommunications firms to acquire customer call details and access private communications of certain individuals. Although the FBI has not disclosed the identities of the victims, there is a belief that senior U.S. government officials and notable political figures are among those whose communications were compromised.
Neuberger stated that officials do not yet have an accurate count of how many Americans may have been impacted by Salt Typhoon, largely because the Chinese hackers employed sophisticated techniques. However, she pointed out that a “large number” of those affected reside in the Washington-Virginia region.
The hackers’ objective appears to have been to ascertain phone ownership, especially of individuals deemed “government targets of interest,” in order to spy on their private texts and calls, Neuberger explained. Furthermore, the FBI indicated that those most targeted in the operation are “primarily involved in government or political activities.”
Neuberger emphasized that this incident underscores the necessity for mandatory cybersecurity protocols within the telecommunications industry, an issue the Federal Communications Commission plans to address in a meeting next month. She also mentioned that additional government measures are anticipated in the forthcoming weeks as a response to the hacking incident, although specific actions were not disclosed.
“We understand that relying on voluntary cybersecurity measures is insufficient to safeguard against hacking from China, Russia, and Iran targeting our vital infrastructure,” she remarked. In contrast, the Chinese government has denied any involvement in the hacking efforts.
