Video: Salt Typhoon Hacks Major Telecom Giants Using Malware

according to reports Chinese attackers have infiltrated the systems of several major Broadband providers and may have gained access to various systems including the communications of presidential candidates and political powerhouses other systems that share domestic data with law enforcement requests and also generic internet traffic from people and businesses so how did this all happen the attack which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal is believed to have been carried out by the Chinese Advanced persist and threat group or AP known as salt typhoon it's reported that the group that's linked to Beijing conducted social engineering and spear fishing campaigns exploited software vulnerabilities and even reconfigured routers that infiltrate the networks of several telecommunication companies including Verizon AT&T and Lumen Technologies it's even possible that they have had access to these internal networks for several months while the investigation is still ongoing it's believed that once the attackers were inside the networks they may have gained access to a wide range of sensitive data including customer account data which includes personal information like names addresses and financial details Network infrastructure which if under the attacker's control could enable them to disrupt Communications or launch further attacks and information relating to lawful Federal requests for wirs this one is particularly alarming as it could potentially compromise ongoing investigations and expose confidential information and if that wasn't bad enough The Washington Post reports that the attack hackers were also able to collect the audio of several calls and unencrypted SMS text messages and may have targeted other information like call logs as a part of a wide ranging Espionage operation now it's unclear whether or not the hacking attempts were successful and while the full list of individuals is unknown many senior staffers were given new phones and devices once they were notified while us officials try to downplay this Espionage campaign is standard practice by world powers a breach like this has far-reaching implications it highlights the vulnerability of critical infrastructure to cyber threats raises questions about the effectiveness of current security measures and shows how the same systems used for lawful access to assist law enforcement and federal authorities can actually be harmful and quickly become a major personal and national security issue so who is salt typhoon well salt typhoon also known as ghost Emperor and famous Sparrow is a threat actor suspected of being operated by the Chinese government this group is known for its Advanced attack capabilities ities and evasion techniques allowing them to access targeted systems and remain undetected they have been linked to several cyber attacks and cyber Espionage campaigns against North America and Southeast Asia dating back to 2019 their campaigns include attacks on government agencies telecommunication companies energy providers and others a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington DC denied any involvement in provided the following statement the United States intelligence community and cyber security companies have been secretly collaborating to piece together false evidence and spread disinformation about the so-called Chinese government's support for cyber attacks against the United States look I think it goes without saying that this is a serious cyber secur breach that could have catastrophic consequences the United States cyber security and infrastructure Security Agency also known as siza released a joint statement with the FBI that they are investigating the unauthorized access to commercial T Communications infrastructure by actors affiliated with the People's Republic of China siza also ref questions about the alleged attack to the service providers who have all declined to comment at this time as we mentioned earlier in this video the investigation is still ongoing and the true impact is still being determined however here are a few things that you can do right now to protect yourself first keep a watchful eye over your personal information for example pay close attention to your financial accounts credit reports and other records to ensure no new accounts are created or financial transactions are made in your name next if you're a customer of any of the providers that were affected by this breach it may be a good idea to change your account password just in case always remember to use strong passwords and multiactor authentication also make sure to enable enhanced security features like Verizon's enhance authentication and Port freezing lastly be suspicious of any unsolicited emails and attachments especially if they're from any of the service providers that were affected in this breach if in doubt look up your provider's customer service information and contact them directly let me know if you have any questions or concerns in the comment section below and make sure to subscribe to e security planet and hit the bell for notifications so you can be updated as we get more information thanks for watching today's video I'm Davin Jackson and until next time stay informed stay secure and stay safe

This transcript was generated automatically from the video's captions and may contain errors.