The Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese hacker group “Salt Typhoon” breached the US court wiretap system on October 5, 2024.
Key Takeaways
- Chinese hacker group “Salt Typhoon” breached the US court wiretap system.
- The attack impacted the networks of Verizon Communications, AT&T, and Lumen Technologies.
- The Chinese government has denied involvement, dismissing the accusations as a false narrative.
On October 5, the Wall Street Journal disclosed that Chinese hackers got access to the networks and data of US broadband providers from federal government systems used for court-authorized wiretapping.
According to the Wall Street Journal,
“A Chinese hacker organization carried out the attack in order to gather intelligence. Investigators in the United States have called it the “Salt Typhoon”.”
WSJ wrote that claimed sources familiar with the matter recently revealed that the attack impacted the networks of Verizon Communications, AT&T, and Lumen Technologies.
Beijing said that it deployed hackers to sneak into foreign computer networks and repeatedly disputed allegations by the US government.
Verizon and AT&T did not reply immediately to requests for comment, while Lumen Technologies declined to comment.
The Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the situation, that it’s probable the hackers had access to the networks the US uses for legitimate requests for communications data for months or longer. It further stated that the hackers had also accessed other segments of internet traffic.
On October 6, China’s Foreign Ministry stated that, while it was unaware of the attack mentioned in the report, the United States had previously “framed” China by “making a false narrative.”
The ministry stated in an interview with Reuters,
“At a time when cyber security has become a common challenge for all countries around the world, this erroneous approach will only hinder the efforts of the international community to jointly address the challenge through dialogue and cooperation.”
As a result, the US government and cybersecurity organizations, including Microsoft, are probing the hack to mitigate the damage and prevent future attempts. This incident underscores the increased susceptibility of key infrastructure to state-sponsored cyberattacks as concerns about the potential exploitation of sensitive information rise.
Cyber attacks are increasing regularly, compromising users’ data as well as national security. Maximum protection is the only cure to this virus, considering that recently UK-based nuclear waste unit Sellafield Ltd got fined £332,500 for cybersecurity pitfalls.
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