WASHINGTON (AP) – A ninth U.S. telecommunications company has given Beijing officials access to the private text messages and phone conversations of an unspecified number of Americans in a massive Chinese espionage operation. A senior White House official said the attack was confirmed as part of the hack. Friday.
Biden administration officials announced this month that at least eight telecommunications companies and dozens of countries were affected by a Chinese hacking blitz known as “Salt Typhoon.”
But Ann Neuberger, the vice president's national security adviser for cyber and emerging technologies, told reporters on Friday that the government is now in the ninth state after announcing guidance for companies on how to hunt for Chinese culprits in their networks. He said the victims have been identified.
Neuberger's update is the latest development in a massive hacking operation that has alarmed national security officials, exposed private sector cybersecurity vulnerabilities and exposed the sophistication of Chinese hacking. .
Hackers breached the carrier's network to obtain customer call records and access the private communications of a “limited number of individuals.” The FBI has not publicly identified the victims, but officials believe the victims whose communications were accessed include senior U.S. government officials and prominent politicians.
Neuberger said authorities still don't know exactly how many Americans were affected by the salt typhoon, in part because China was cautious about its tactics, but “a large number” were in the Washington, Virginia area. He said he was there.
Authorities believe the hacker's goal was to determine the owner of the phone and, if the phone was a “subject of government interest,” to spy on the phone's text messages and phone calls, she said. said.
The FBI said most of the people targeted by the hackers are “primarily involved in government or political activity.”
Neuberger said the episode highlighted the need for mandatory cybersecurity practices in the telecommunications industry, which the Federal Communications Commission plans to address at its meeting next month.
“We know that voluntary cybersecurity practices are insufficient to prevent China, Russia, and Iran from hacking our nation's critical infrastructure,” he said.
The Chinese government denies responsibility for the hack.
