Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
The The white house said Friday that a ninth U.S. telecommunications company was hacked as part of a Chinese spying campaign that gave government officials access to private messages and phone conversations of Americans.
The Biden administration said earlier this month that at least eight telecommunications companies and dozens of countries were affected by a Chinese hacking operation known as Salt Typhoon.
On Friday, Deputy National Security Adviser Anne Neuberger told reporters that a ninth victim had been identified after the administration released guidance to companies on how to locate Chinese hackers in their networks.
Hackers compromised the networks of telecommunications companies to collect user call records and access the private communications of a limited number of people, officials said.
CHINA WARNS US TO STOP ARMING TAIWAN AFTER BIDEN APPROVES $571 MILLION IN MILITARY AID
Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technologies, speaks during a press briefing at the White House, March 21, 2022, in Washington. (AP)
FBI has not publicly identified any of the victims, but officials believe senior US government officials and prominent political figures are among the victims whose communications were accessed.
Neuberger said officials don’t yet have an accurate picture of how many Americans were targeted by Salt Typhoon, in part because the hackers were cautious about their methods, but she said a “large number” of victims were in Washington, D.C., and Virginia. .
TRUMP SAYS TIKTOK’S FATE SHOULD BE IN HIS HANDS WHEN HE RETURNS TO THE WHITE HOUSE
Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technologies Anne Neuberger speaks during the daily White House press briefing on February 17, 2021, in Washington. (Getty Images)
Officials said they believed the hackers wanted to identify who owned the devices and spy on their messages and phone calls if they were “government targets of interest,” Neuberger said.
Most of the victims were “primarily involved in government or political activities,” the FBI said.
Neuberger said the hack showed the need for the necessary cyber security practices in the telecommunications industry, which the Federal Communications Commission is expected to consider during a meeting next month.
U.S. and Chinese flags are placed before a meeting between U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China, Saturday, July 8, 2023. (Mark Schiefelbein/Pool via REUTERS)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
She also said, without elaborating, that the government planned further actions in the coming weeks in response to the hacking campaign, although she did not say what those measures would be.
“We know that voluntary cybersecurity practices are inadequate to protect against the hacking of our critical infrastructure by China, Russia and Iran,” she said.
The the Chinese government has denied responsibility for the hacking campaign.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
