China Cyber Espionage Penetrates US Telco's & Gov't Surveillance

• Both the CIA and FBI have issued a joint statement warning that China-backed have breached multiple US Telecommunications Companies to carry out a massive cyber-espionage attack.

• The attack allowed the hackers to steal customer call records data, private communications of government or politically active individuals, and information subject to US law enforcement requests pursuant to court orders.

• Major Player Targets: Although not formally disclosed as yet, the affected telecommunications companies are likely to include major US broadband providers such as AT&T, Verizon and Lumen Technologies.

• Egregious: The Hacking campaign targeted sensitive US surveillance systems used for court-authorized wiretapping, which the companies provide to the FBI and other agencies for criminal and national security investigations.

• The hackers may have also targeted the phones of high-profile individuals, including President-elect Donald and his running mate JD Vance

• Not insignificant: The investigation was briefed to several House committees, including the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, the Department of Homeland Security Intelligence, and Judiciary panels, before the official joint statement was released.

• Cisco Denial/First Light: The initial reporting of the campaign led investigators to look for signs of compromise in Cisco routers, but a preliminary investigation by Cisco revealed no such intrusions.

• Tactical: The tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) used by these China-backed actors include infecting ISPs through zero-days. It was previously warned against by CISA and later taken down by law enforcement in January.

For further information, read here: https://www.csoonline.com/article/3605085/us-says-china-conducted-massive-espionage-through-breached-telcos.html?utm_date=20241115165619&utm_campaign=CSO%20US%20First%20Look&utm_content=slotno-1-title-US%20says%20China%20conducted%20massive%20espionage%20through%20breached%20telcos&utm_term=CSO%20US%20Editorial%20Newsletters&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Adestra&huid=