Alexander Culafi
Of the countless threat actors, state-sponsored and otherwise, that target the US private and public sectors, few have gained the wide cultural relevance of Salt Typhoon, the Chinese state-sponsored threat actor that has targeted major telecommunications providers in a far-reaching, ongoing espionage campaign.
Discovered last fall, Salt Typhoon has hacked into telecom giants in the US and abroad — including Verizon, AT&T, Lumen Technologies, and others — in a successful effort to access the "lawful intercept" systems law enforcement agencies use for court-authorized wiretapping. In its apparently months-long campaign, Salt Typhoon accessed sensitive data belonging to the Republican and Democratic 2024 presidential campaigns as well as that of other politicians.
Salt Typhoon's activities have continued into the new year and around the world. Although Chinese state-backed espionage against the US is well-established, the telecom-focused attacks reported last fall are a high-profile reminder of how these activities are escalating. The question is, What can the US do about it?
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