New report details ‘vast spying’ by China-linked telecom hackers
Hackers reportedly had access to the communications of thousands of Americans.
New details are continuing to surface about the hacking of US telecom companies by a China-linked group that targeted US officials and campaign staffers. Now, The Wall Street Journal reports that the hackers’ access was even greater than what’s been previously reported, and that the communications of “potentially thousands of Americans” may have been impacted.
Last week, The New York Times reported that FBI investigators suspected call logs and SMS messages had been accessed by the hacking group, known as “Salt Typhoon.” The group reportedly targeted the phones of diplomats and government officials, as well as people associated with both presidential campaigns.
Now, The WSJ is reporting that the hackers, who were “likely” working for a Chinese intelligence agency, spent “eight months or more” in US telecom infrastructure, and that they may have been able to scoop up the data of thousands of people who were in contact with the targeted individuals.
The Journal confirms earlier reports that the hackers “limited their targets to several dozen select, high-value political and national-security figures.” But the hackers, who reportedly exploited routers used by telecom firms, had “the ability to access the phone data of virtually any American who is a customer of a compromised carrier — a group that includes AT&T and Verizon.” Both AT&T and Verizon declined to comment on the report.
Update November 13, 2024, 6:42 PM ET: In a statement, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) confirmed that their investigation "has revealed a broad and significant cyber espionage campaign." Though the agencies didn't name specific targets, they confirmed many details reported by The WSJ.
“Specifically, we have identified that PRC-affiliated actors have compromised networks at multiple telecommunications companies to enable the theft of customer call records data, the compromise of private communications of a limited number of individuals who are primarily involved in government or political activity, and the copying of certain information that was subject to U.S. law enforcement requests pursuant to court orders," they said. "We expect our understanding of these compromises to grow as the investigation continues."
