Chinese Hackers Exploit US Surveillance Tool In Massive Data Breach
A hacking group allegedly linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has exploited a U.S. government surveillance tool, compromising private call and text records of millions of Americans. The breach, described as the “worst telecom hack in our nation’s history” by Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), targeted systems meant for law enforcement monitoring.
The group, identified as “Salt Typhoon,” reportedly accessed cables allowing live monitoring of calls routed through multiple telecom networks. Initial reports suggest fewer than 150 individuals, mainly in Washington, D.C., were directly targeted, but millions had their call and text data exposed.
Telecom companies including AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon became aware of the breach in September and alerted federal authorities. Salt Typhoon allegedly infiltrated a database of criminal wiretap requests used by U.S. law enforcement to identify persons of interest. The actual wiretapping system remains uncompromised, according to officials.
The stolen data reportedly included unencrypted communications like text messages, but end-to-end encrypted platforms such as Signal remain unaffected. The hack raises concerns about how sensitive U.S. surveillance tools could be exploited to target Americans for further espionage.
“This is an ongoing effort by China to infiltrate telecom systems around the world to exfiltrate huge amounts of data,” Warner stated. He compared the hack to past incidents like the Colonial Pipeline attack but deemed it far more severe.
Washington officials, including the FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), have confirmed identifying the perpetrators but remain tight-lipped about further details. Beijing denies involvement, claiming no knowledge of the operation.
Among those reportedly impacted are President-elect Donald Trump, Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, and members of Kamala Harris’ campaign team. While the breach did not directly relate to the election, its scale has alarmed cybersecurity experts and federal agencies alike.
