The White House on Friday revealed that the ninth US telecommunications firm has been compromised in an all-encompassing Chinese hacking spree aimed at critical infrastructure within the country and elsewhere. The cyber-espionage group, dubbed “Salt Typhoon”, also known as Earth Estries, FamousSparrow, Ghost Emperor, and UNC2286, traces its activities back at least to 2019 and has already gained access to government and telecom networks worldwide.
This new breach was disclosed by Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser at the White House, during a news conference wherein she emphasized that the private sector’s cyber security practices are deficient. “China is concerned about critical infrastructure in the United States. Those are private sector companies, and we still see companies not doing the basics,” Neuberger said.
Also Read: Murree Tourist Glass Train Project to be Finalized by April 2025
The name of the last victim was disclosed after the Biden Administration released new guidance that issues alerts for organizations concerning possible indicators of compromise linked to Chinese cyber activity. Reporters were assured by Neuberger that “at this time, we don’t believe any classified communications have been compromised.”
According to a senior official from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the agency could not confirm if the attackers had been fully disconnected from affected systems. In response, CISA urges senior federal officials to use encrypted messaging applications such as Signal to limit interception risks. CISA also issued technical direction to telecommunication operators to enhance their defenses against Salt Typhoon’s tactics.
The Biden administration is ramping up its actions against Chinese entities associated with cybersecurity threats. As reported by The New York Times, the government plans to shut down the last active operations of China Telecom in the country. Telecommunication router TP-Link is under scrutiny, tagged for possible restrictions in the coming year if security risks are verified.
There are more proposals under the legislature and regulation intended for the strengthening of telecom defenses in the country. US Sen. Ron Wyden has planned a bill securing American networks. Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel pledged to act “urgently” in mandating more advanced infrastructure protections for US carriers.