Senator declares US experienced ‘worst telecom hack’ in history
US authorities have accused a hacking group linked to Beijing of intercepting surveillance data meant for American law enforcement agencies. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
Hackers are reported to have exploited surveillance systems established by US authorities for the purpose of wiretapping Americans.
National security advisors and other high-ranking officials from the outgoing Biden administration convened a meeting on Friday with leading executives from major telecommunications companies to address what is being called “by far” the worst cybersecurity breach in the nation’s history.
Earlier this month, US authorities implicated a hacking group with ties to Beijing, named ‘Salt Typhoon,’ claiming they intercepted surveillance data collected and stored by telecom companies for American law enforcement agencies. The hackers reportedly captured text messages and audio from an unspecified number of calls during an extensive operation that persisted for several months.
Senator Mark Warner, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, characterized the breach as the “worst telecom hack in our nation’s history – by far,” following a hearing earlier this week. He added, “The barn door is still wide open, or mostly open.”
During the meeting at the White House, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and deputy national security adviser Anne Neuberger engaged with representatives from the telecommunications sector, although details regarding the attendees remain undisclosed.
According to a statement from the White House, “The meeting was an opportunity to hear from telecommunications sector executives about how the US government can partner with and support the private sector in hardening against sophisticated nation-state attacks.”
On November 13, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency released a joint statement, attributing the intrusion to China and acknowledging that the compromised information was collected as part of “legal” surveillance targeting American individuals.
In their statement, they noted, “Specifically, we have identified that PRC-affiliated actors have compromised networks at multiple telecommunications companies to enable the theft of customer call record data, the compromise of private communications of a limited number of individuals primarily involved in government or political activity, and the copying of certain information that was subject to US law enforcement requests pursuant to court orders.”
The investigation into the breadth of the breach is ongoing. Reports suggest that fewer than 150 victims have been notified by the FBI thus far, most of whom reside in the Washington DC area. However, since these individuals likely interacted with numerous contacts, the total number of records accessed by the hackers might be considerably larger.
An unnamed adviser to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign is also reported to have had their conversations intercepted, as noted in a recent article by the Washington Post. It remains uncertain if the adviser's information was similarly “subject to US law enforcement requests.” In 2016, the FBI leveraged the fabricated Steele Dossier to gain court approval for surveillance on Trump’s campaign, which some critics argue undermined his presidency.
Beijing has consistently denied accusations of hacking and interference in the US electoral process. The Chinese Embassy in Washington previously stated it was unaware of the activities of ‘Salt Typhoon’ and accused the US of concocting evidence regarding Beijing’s involvement in cyberattacks to “smear China.”
Emily Johnson contributed to this report for TROIB News
National security advisors and other high-ranking officials from the outgoing Biden administration convened a meeting on Friday with leading executives from major telecommunications companies to address what is being called “by far” the worst cybersecurity breach in the nation’s history.
Earlier this month, US authorities implicated a hacking group with ties to Beijing, named ‘Salt Typhoon,’ claiming they intercepted surveillance data collected and stored by telecom companies for American law enforcement agencies. The hackers reportedly captured text messages and audio from an unspecified number of calls during an extensive operation that persisted for several months.
Senator Mark Warner, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, characterized the breach as the “worst telecom hack in our nation’s history – by far,” following a hearing earlier this week. He added, “The barn door is still wide open, or mostly open.”
During the meeting at the White House, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and deputy national security adviser Anne Neuberger engaged with representatives from the telecommunications sector, although details regarding the attendees remain undisclosed.
According to a statement from the White House, “The meeting was an opportunity to hear from telecommunications sector executives about how the US government can partner with and support the private sector in hardening against sophisticated nation-state attacks.”
On November 13, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency released a joint statement, attributing the intrusion to China and acknowledging that the compromised information was collected as part of “legal” surveillance targeting American individuals.
In their statement, they noted, “Specifically, we have identified that PRC-affiliated actors have compromised networks at multiple telecommunications companies to enable the theft of customer call record data, the compromise of private communications of a limited number of individuals primarily involved in government or political activity, and the copying of certain information that was subject to US law enforcement requests pursuant to court orders.”
The investigation into the breadth of the breach is ongoing. Reports suggest that fewer than 150 victims have been notified by the FBI thus far, most of whom reside in the Washington DC area. However, since these individuals likely interacted with numerous contacts, the total number of records accessed by the hackers might be considerably larger.
An unnamed adviser to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign is also reported to have had their conversations intercepted, as noted in a recent article by the Washington Post. It remains uncertain if the adviser's information was similarly “subject to US law enforcement requests.” In 2016, the FBI leveraged the fabricated Steele Dossier to gain court approval for surveillance on Trump’s campaign, which some critics argue undermined his presidency.
Beijing has consistently denied accusations of hacking and interference in the US electoral process. The Chinese Embassy in Washington previously stated it was unaware of the activities of ‘Salt Typhoon’ and accused the US of concocting evidence regarding Beijing’s involvement in cyberattacks to “smear China.”
Emily Johnson contributed to this report for TROIB News
