A senior White House official said Wednesday that at least eight U.S. telecommunications companies and dozens of other nations have been affected. Chinese hacking campaign.
Deputy National Security Adviser Anne Neuberger offered new details about the scope China’s massive hacking campaign he introduced officials Beijing Access to private texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans.
Neuberger disclosed the details of the hack to the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency a day later. gave guidance It plans to root out hackers and prevent similar cyberespionage in the future. White House officials warned that the number of affected telecommunications companies and countries could still grow.
The US believes the hackers gained access to the communications of senior US government officials and important political figures through the hack, Neuberger said.
“We do not believe that any classified communications have been compromised,” Neuberger added in a call with reporters.
He noted that because the hack appeared to be aimed at a relatively small group of people, only a small number of Americans’ phone calls and texts were compromised. Neuberger added that the affected companies are responding, but none have “completely removed the Chinese actors from these networks.”
“Therefore, there is a risk that there will be ongoing communications compromises where US companies will retain their access until the cybersecurity gaps are addressed,” Neuberger said.
He said he was briefed on the findings by President Joe Biden and that the White House has “made it a priority for the federal government to do everything it can to get to the bottom of this.”
China’s embassy in Washington on Tuesday rejected accusations that it was responsible for the hack after US federal authorities issued new guidelines.
“The US must stop cyber attacks against other countries and refrain from using cyber security to smear and slander China,” said embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu.
The embassy did not immediately respond to messages Wednesday.
White House officials believe the hacking was targeted regionally and focused on officials across the government.
Federal authorities confirmed in October that the hackers had ties to China for phones Along with people associated with then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance, Democratic vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
The number of countries affected by the hack is believed to be in the “low, a couple of dozen,” according to a senior administration official.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity in accordance with ground rules set by the White House, said the hacks were believed to have started a year or two ago.
The suggestions for telecommunications companies those released on Tuesday are largely technical in nature, requiring encryption, centralization and consistent monitoring to prevent cyber intrusions.
If implemented, the security measures could help hamper the operation, dubbed Salt Typhoon, and make it difficult for China or any other country to carry out a similar attack in the future, experts say.
Neuberger highlighted the efforts made to strengthen cyber security in railways, aviation, energy and other sectors in May 2021. Ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline.
“So to prevent China’s Salt Typhoon-style intrusions, we think we need to apply a similar minimum cybersecurity practice,” Neuberger said.
A cyberattack by a criminal hacker group on a critical US pipeline that supplies about 45% of the fuel used in the East. the seashoresent ripple effects throughout the economy, highlighting cybersecurity vulnerabilities in the nation’s aging energy infrastructure. Colonial confirmed it paid $4.4 million to a group of hackers who broke into its computer systems in an effort to bring the nation’s fuel pipelines back online.
