UPDATE The U.S. government has uncovered what it says is a significant cyber espionage campaign allegedly conducted by China-linked hackers, targeting American commercial telecom infrastructure. The FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) reported that the hackers compromised networks at multiple telecommunications companies, stealing customer call records and compromising private communications of certain individuals, including those involved in government or political activity, reports Mobile World Live.
The investigation is ongoing, and authorities are working to bolster cyber defenses across the telecom sector. Other potential victims have been alerted and the two agencies stated they are working to strengthen cyber defenses across the commercial communications sector. Impacted companies were not named, however news outlets, including Inside Towers, reported a month ago a China-linked-group called Salt Typhoon had attacked networks operated by AT&T (NYSE: T), Verizon (NYSE: VZ) and Lumen (NYSE: LUMN).
The breach follows earlier reports that Chinese hackers targeted the phones of political figures, including President-elect Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance. Other political workers were also reportedly targeted, including some Democrats on Capitol Hill and potentially staff members of Vice President Harris’s presidential campaign, just weeks ahead of election day.
A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington pushed back on the FBI’s findings, calling them “smear attacks against China without any factual basis,” reports The Hill.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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