A former FBI official suggests that nearly all Americans might have experienced the impacts of state-sponsored cyberattacks from China. In a recent advisory, international law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and NSA, cautioned the public that forces linked to the Chinese Communist Party were targeting numerous facets of American life. This includes communications, government systems, transportation networks, hotels, and military infrastructures.
This cyberattack wasn’t just aimed at the U.S.; it extended to various countries globally. The three Chinese companies associated with the Salt Typhoon operations are reportedly connected to Chinese intelligence services, including parts of the People’s Liberation Army and the Ministry of State Security, as noted by international organizations.
Cynthia Kaiser, a former senior official with the FBI’s cyber division, remarked on the difficulty of believing that there’s anyone in America who hasn’t been affected by such hacking activities. “Given the scale of the campaign, I can’t imagine that not a single American was untouched,” she pointed out.
The FBI reported that officials directly impacted by these cyber intrusions include high-ranking U.S. government members and well-known politicians whose communications were compromised.
Pete Nicoletti, the chief information security officer at Check Point, indicated that those behind the Salt Typhoon operation had extraordinary access to American phone communications. He stated, “They had complete control. So, your grandmother wasn’t the target, but officials like Trump and Kamala Harris were.” He also mentioned how the hackers had spent five years establishing their presence and extracting data, which he described as “nearly unprecedented.”
However, Nicoletti expressed greater concern about whether these hackers continue to reside undetected within various organizations. “My biggest fear is what they’re currently doing,” he stressed. “It’s not about what they might do next but what they’re doing right now.”
In discussing a cyberattack that occurred in December 2024, former national security adviser Anne Neuberger reported that hackers were able to pinpoint device owners and monitor their communications if deemed significant to the government.
