The ninth telecommunications company in the United States has had its resources attacked as part of a series of cyberattacks allegedly carried out by Chinese hackers. The attackers gained access to the personal messages and phone calls of an unknown number of Americans, the White House said.
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In December, the US presidential administration said at least eight US providers and resources in several dozen countries were affected by a massive series of cyberattacks dubbed the Salt Typhoon, blamed on Chinese hackers. The day before, Deputy National Security Advisor Anne Neuberger said that after this statement it became known that the ninth company in the United States had become a victim.
By hacking into the resources of telecommunications companies, hackers gained access to personal messages and call records of clients – a limited number of people. The FBI has not publicly identified any of the victims, but according to one version, we are talking about prominent political figures and officials in the United States. Authorities don’t yet have an idea of how many Americans were injured in Operation Salt Typhoon, partly because attackers are treading cautiously; a “large number” of them are known to be in the Washington-Virginia region.
At the initial stage, hackers determined who owned a particular phone, and if the owner turned out to be a “target of interest to the government,” calls and correspondence were monitored. Most of the individuals targeted were “primarily involved in government or political activities,” the FBI confirmed. In January, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will consider measures to improve cybersecurity in the telecommunications industry.