FBI and CISA Expose Chinese Hackers in US Telecom Networks
The FBI and CISA have reported that Chinese hackers breached the systems of American commercial telecommunications companies. The agencies notified the affected organizations of the security breach, offered technical assistance, and alerted other potential targets to the increase in cyberactivity.
It is reported that the attack impacted devices belonging to Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris, former President Donald Trump, and Senate candidate J.D. Vance. The investigation is ongoing, and few details have been shared with the public at this time.
In early October, news broke that the Chinese hacker group Salt Typhoon had accessed the systems of several American internet providers, including Verizon, AT&T, and Lumen Technologies. It is noted that the purpose of this operation was intelligence gathering, with the attackers infiltrating a communications interception system that these companies maintain to aid law enforcement agencies. The FBI stated that it could not provide further comments beyond the official notification, while CISA offered no comment.
Similar cyberespionage activity has also been observed in Canada, which has come under attack by state-sponsored Chinese cyber efforts. The Canadian government announced that, in recent months, Chinese hackers have conducted extensive network scans targeting various organizations. Among the victims are federal government agencies, political parties, Parliament, critical infrastructure, media outlets, think tanks, and NGOs.
According to Canadian authorities, these scans were primarily reconnaissance activities and did not constitute direct intrusions. Nevertheless, the government has recommended that all key organizations in the country strengthen their security measures, including the implementation of multi-factor authentication, logging, traffic monitoring, and anti-phishing training.
