FBI Updates on ‘Broad and Significant’ Chinese Telecom Hack

The U.S. investigation into Chinese hacking of commercial telecom infrastructure uncovered a “broad and significant cyber espionage campaign” targeting private communications of government and political figures, the FBI and top cyber defense agency warned in a joint statement.

An ongoing probe has revealed that threat actors affiliated with Beijing “have compromised networks at multiple telecommunications companies” as part of an effort to steal customer call records and copy sensitive information used in law enforcement requests. Reports previously attributed the espionage campaign to Salt Typhoon, an advanced persistent threat group linked to China’s foreign intelligence service, which targeted systems handling court-authorized wiretaps (see: Feds Probe Chinese ‘Salt Typhoon’ Hack of Major Telcos).

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and FBI said they are offering technical support to a “limited number of individuals primarily involved in government or political activity” who were targeted in the hacking campaign.

“We expect our understanding of these compromises to grow as the investigation continues,” the statement added.

CISA and the FBI have not publicly identified the individuals targeted in the hacking campaign. Reports have suggested Chinese threat actors attempted to exfiltrate data from campaign phones used by President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect, Ohio Sen. JD Vance (see: Chinese Hackers Reportedly Targeted Trump, Vance Phones).

It remains unclear whether the hacking campaign successfully stole records from the Trump campaign. A bipartisan group of lawmakers sent letters to AT&T, Verizon and Lumen in October demanding information about the hacking and adding that the potential breaches were “extremely alarming for both economic and national security reasons” (see: Congress Seeks Urgent Action After Chinese Telecom Hack).

“Chinese hackers potentially accessed vulnerable information including court-authorized network wiretapping requests and internet traffic,” wrote House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash.; Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr., D-N.J.; Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chair Bob Latta, R-Ohio; and Ranking Member Doris Matsui, D-Calif. “In an age where Americans rely heavily on your services for communication and connectivity, the integrity of your networks is paramount.”

Both CISA and the FBI did not immediately respond to requests for comment.