U.S. officials are urging individuals and businesses to use encrypted messaging apps to minimize the possibility of their communications being intercepted by China's Communist regime.
The advisory comes as top U.S. security officials this week acknowledged a historic state-sponsored hacking campaign that compromised at least eight U.S. carriers, including AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon. There is.
microsoft
dubbed Chinese group in charge of Salt Typhoon. Salt Typhoon has been active ever since. at least 3020 is also sometimes called Ghostemperor, Earth Estries, UNC2286, or FamousSparrow.
wall street journal
first reported He cited September's Salt Typhoon attack, which saw hackers infiltrate numerous broadband providers earlier this year, giving them a foothold within the broadband infrastructure to access personal data and potentially launch a devastating cyber attack. He pointed out that there is.
Defenders of the Chinese regime have repeatedly denied China's role in the attack, but U.S. officials are not buying what they are selling.
“Encryption is your friend.”
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and FBI
issued In a joint statement last month, the U.S. government said “ongoing investigations into the People's Republic of China (PRC) targeting commercial telecommunications infrastructure have revealed widespread and significant cyber espionage operations.”
“Specifically, China-linked attackers have breached the networks of multiple telecommunications companies, stolen customer call log data, and stolen the private information of a limited number of individuals, primarily those involved in government and political activities. “We have confirmed that we have enabled the compromise of communications and copies of certain information subject to requests by U.S. law enforcement pursuant to a court order,” the agency said.
Congressman Jake Auchincloss (D-Massachusetts)
said On November 29, “Salt Typhoon was the worst communications hack in U.S. history, and preventing these intrusions requires both a proportionate response to the Chinese Communist Party and increased accountability of American companies.''
Auchincloss suggested to CNN that the hackers were particularly brazen, reasserting themselves within the network even after being discovered.
An anonymous FBI official and CISA Executive Assistant Director of Cybersecurity Jeff Green said:
said NBC News on Tuesday argued that Americans should use encrypted messaging apps.
“What we're proposing, what we've been telling people internally is nothing new here: Whether it's text messaging or the ability to use encrypted voice communications, encryption is We're on your side. Even if an adversary were able to intercept the data, it would be impossible because it's encrypted,” Green said.
FBI officials said that “those who want to further protect their mobile device communications will automatically receive timely and operating system updates with responsibly managed encryption and phishing resistance.” He said people would benefit from considering using mobile phones with multi-factor authentication for social media and collaboration tool accounts. .
Green said networks remain compromised and intelligence agencies cannot at this time “predict when a complete eviction will take place.”
The FBI, CISA, and the National Security Agency released a joint guide on Wednesday titled “.guidance on enhancing and hardening communications infrastructure visibility;“Network engineers and “telecommunications infrastructure defenders” detail how to harden network devices against further exploitation by Chinese hackers.
“China-related cyber activity poses a serious threat to critical infrastructure, government agencies, and businesses. This guide helps telecommunications and other organizations detect and prevent breaches by Chinese and other cyber attackers. ” said Green.
said In a statement.
“That should never have happened.”
President Biden's vice presidential national security adviser, Ann Neuberger, told reporters this week that none of the affected companies had “completely removed Chinese actors from these networks.” .
reported Associated Press.
“Therefore, there is a risk that communications breaches will continue until U.S. companies address the cybersecurity gaps through which China is likely to maintain access,” Neuberger added.
Neuberger added: “We do not believe that confidential communications were compromised.”
On Wednesday, after intelligence officials briefed U.S. senators, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) expressed frustration, saying, “Why didn't they capture it? What could have been done to prevent it? “He did not tell us,” he reportedly said. ”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said, “The extent, depth, and breadth of Chinese hacking is absolutely mind-boggling, and it's on par with what's happened in the past year.'' Forgiveness is a scary thing.”
reported Reuters.
Federal Communications Commission
announced The United States on Thursday said it was “taking decisive steps to address vulnerabilities in U.S. telecommunications networks in the wake of the Salt Typhoon cyber attack, a sophisticated intrusion by a foreign state-sponsored actor. These steps: The purpose is to protect critical communications infrastructure and ensure national security, public safety, and the economy.” Future resilience. ”
FCC Commissioner Brendan Kerr
tweeted“A salt typhoon incursion is a serious and unacceptable risk to our national security. It should never happen. I will work with our national security agencies throughout the transition period and next year to eradicate the threat and protect our country. We will continue to work hard to protect our network.
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