The White House Grapples with Major Hacks by Chinese Telecoms
The Biden administration is collaborating with a minimum of eight U.S. telecommunications companies that have fallen victim to Chinese hackers involved in an extensive global espionage operation.
TroibNews 
President Joe Biden and his White House team are actively working to address a significant Chinese hack affecting multiple U.S. telecommunications providers. Despite their efforts, Beijing still retains the ability to surveil a wide range of Americans, according to a senior U.S. cyber official who spoke to reporters on Wednesday.
Anne Neuberger, the White House's deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology, indicated during a call that the president has been briefed “several times” about the hacking situation. A dedicated White House response group is convening almost daily to discuss the matter.
The White House is collaborating closely with at least eight U.S. telecommunications companies that have been compromised by a China-backed hacking group known as Salt Typhoon. This marks the first official acknowledgment of the number of U.S. providers impacted. Additionally, a new cyber defense task force has been activated, involving the NSA, Pentagon, and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to tackle the breach.
However, Neuberger cautioned that none of the telecommunications providers have successfully eliminated the Chinese hackers from their networks, leaving a substantial number of Americans exposed to potential eavesdropping.
“There is a risk of ongoing compromises to communications,” Neuberger stated. “The Chinese access was broad in terms of potential access to communications of everyday Americans.”
The Salt Typhoon group has leveraged its access within the infrastructure of several telecommunications companies to gather unclassified communications from high-level U.S. government officials and to collect metadata from a wide array of American phone subscribers, Neuberger confirmed.
Reports have indicated that Salt Typhoon's surveillance efforts targeted President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance, and it has been further established that the group accessed cellular records for many Americans, increasing their risk of Chinese surveillance.
Neuberger’s remarks underscore the serious concerns the Salt Typhoon hacks have raised within the highest levels of the D.C. national security community. They also represent one of the most forthright official statements regarding the alarming nature of these hacks, which were only publicly acknowledged by the government in October.
On Tuesday, senior officials from the FBI and CISA reported that the intrusions were first identified in the spring, although collaboration among federal agencies on investigations did not begin until later. In November, federal investigators confirmed that the Chinese had stolen cellular records, intercepted call and text data from select individuals, and copied sensitive wiretap information from the compromised companies.
The government’s ongoing efforts to fully comprehend the extent of the Chinese hacking operation seem to explain their previous reticence to provide detailed information.
Neuberger highlighted that the victims are private firms and noted that the impact of the hack is not limited to the U.S., but extends to “dozens of countries” globally, making response efforts more complex.
Telecom companies, equipment manufacturers, and cybersecurity firms must collaborate, as “they may see parts of the Chinese campaign in different countries and networks around the world,” she stated.
While specific countries were not named, the only publicly recognized victims of the hack so far are U.S.-based companies, including AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Lumen. Overall, as many as 80 providers have experienced some level of impact, as reported.
Neuberger mentioned that the State Department has issued recent guidance to every embassy and consulate worldwide regarding strategies to mitigate the hacks, and that the NSA, Pentagon, and CISA task force—known as the Enduring Security Framework—are closely cooperating with the telecommunications sector to address the situation.
Nonetheless, Neuberger argued that imposing new security mandates is essential to prevent future breaches by the Chinese, a strategy the Biden administration has implemented to safeguard critical infrastructure in other areas.
“Commonly accepted cybersecurity practices would have made it far harder to execute and easier to recover from,” she asserted.
Allen M Lee contributed to this report for TROIB News
Anne Neuberger, the White House's deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology, indicated during a call that the president has been briefed “several times” about the hacking situation. A dedicated White House response group is convening almost daily to discuss the matter.
The White House is collaborating closely with at least eight U.S. telecommunications companies that have been compromised by a China-backed hacking group known as Salt Typhoon. This marks the first official acknowledgment of the number of U.S. providers impacted. Additionally, a new cyber defense task force has been activated, involving the NSA, Pentagon, and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to tackle the breach.
However, Neuberger cautioned that none of the telecommunications providers have successfully eliminated the Chinese hackers from their networks, leaving a substantial number of Americans exposed to potential eavesdropping.
“There is a risk of ongoing compromises to communications,” Neuberger stated. “The Chinese access was broad in terms of potential access to communications of everyday Americans.”
The Salt Typhoon group has leveraged its access within the infrastructure of several telecommunications companies to gather unclassified communications from high-level U.S. government officials and to collect metadata from a wide array of American phone subscribers, Neuberger confirmed.
Reports have indicated that Salt Typhoon's surveillance efforts targeted President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance, and it has been further established that the group accessed cellular records for many Americans, increasing their risk of Chinese surveillance.
Neuberger’s remarks underscore the serious concerns the Salt Typhoon hacks have raised within the highest levels of the D.C. national security community. They also represent one of the most forthright official statements regarding the alarming nature of these hacks, which were only publicly acknowledged by the government in October.
On Tuesday, senior officials from the FBI and CISA reported that the intrusions were first identified in the spring, although collaboration among federal agencies on investigations did not begin until later. In November, federal investigators confirmed that the Chinese had stolen cellular records, intercepted call and text data from select individuals, and copied sensitive wiretap information from the compromised companies.
The government’s ongoing efforts to fully comprehend the extent of the Chinese hacking operation seem to explain their previous reticence to provide detailed information.
Neuberger highlighted that the victims are private firms and noted that the impact of the hack is not limited to the U.S., but extends to “dozens of countries” globally, making response efforts more complex.
Telecom companies, equipment manufacturers, and cybersecurity firms must collaborate, as “they may see parts of the Chinese campaign in different countries and networks around the world,” she stated.
While specific countries were not named, the only publicly recognized victims of the hack so far are U.S.-based companies, including AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Lumen. Overall, as many as 80 providers have experienced some level of impact, as reported.
Neuberger mentioned that the State Department has issued recent guidance to every embassy and consulate worldwide regarding strategies to mitigate the hacks, and that the NSA, Pentagon, and CISA task force—known as the Enduring Security Framework—are closely cooperating with the telecommunications sector to address the situation.
Nonetheless, Neuberger argued that imposing new security mandates is essential to prevent future breaches by the Chinese, a strategy the Biden administration has implemented to safeguard critical infrastructure in other areas.
“Commonly accepted cybersecurity practices would have made it far harder to execute and easier to recover from,” she asserted.
Allen M Lee contributed to this report for TROIB News
