White House identifies 9th US telecom breach linked to Chinese hackers

The White House confirmed Friday that a ninth US telecommunications company was breached as part of an extensive Chinese hacking campaign targeting critical infrastructure in the US and other nations.

The cyber-espionage group referred to as "Salt Typhoon," also known by aliases such as Earth Estries, FamousSparrow, Ghost Emperor and UNC2286), has been active since at least 2019, specializing in infiltrating government and telecom networks globally.

White House Deputy National Security Adviser Anne Neuberger disclosed the new breach during a news conference, emphasizing vulnerabilities in the private sector's cybersecurity practices.

"The reality is that China is targeting critical infrastructure in the United States. Those are private sector companies, and we still see companies not doing the basics," Neuberger said, according to Bloomberg.

"That's why we're looking forward and saying, ‘Let's lock down this infrastructure.' And frankly, let's hold the Chinese accountable for this."

The latest victim was identified after the Biden administration issued new guidance to help organizations detect Chinese cyberactivity.

Neuberger assured reporters that "at this time, we don't believe any classified communications have been compromised."

-CISA urges encryption

A senior official from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), however, noted that the agency could not confirm whether the attackers had been fully removed from affected systems.

In response to the breaches, CISA has urged senior government officials to adopt encrypted messaging platforms like Signal to mitigate interception risks and released technical guidance for telecom operators to fortify their defenses against Salt Typhoon's tactics.

The Biden administration is also intensifying measures against Chinese entities linked to cybersecurity threats.

According to a report by The New York Times, the US government is set to ban the last active operations of China Telecom in the country. Investigations into TP-Link routers are underway, with potential restrictions on their use expected next year if security risks are confirmed.

Additionally, legislative and regulatory actions are being proposed to bolster the nation's telecom defenses.

US Sen. Ron Wyden announced plans for a bill to secure American networks, while Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel pledged to act "urgently" to mandate enhanced infrastructure protections for US carriers.