WASHINGTON: A federal investigation into Chinese government efforts to hack into U.S. telecommunications networks has revealed a “broad and significant” cyberespionage campaign aimed at stealing information from Americans involved in government and politics, the FBI reported on Wednesday.
According to a joint statement from the FBI and the federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), hackers affiliated with Beijing have compromised the networks of “multiple” telecommunications companies. This breach allowed them to obtain customer call records and access private communications of “a limited number of individuals,” most of whom are primarily engaged in government or political activity. However, the FBI did not identify any of the specific individuals targeted by the hackers.
The hackers also attempted to copy “certain information that was subject to U.S. law enforcement requests pursuant to court orders,” suggesting that the hackers may have been trying to compromise programs subject to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). This act grants American spy agencies extensive powers to surveil communications of individuals suspected of being foreign agents. The warning follows several high-profile hacking incidents that U.S. authorities have attributed to China, which they say is part of an effort to steal technological and governmental information while targeting critical infrastructure like the electrical grid.
In September, the FBI announced it had disrupted a large Chinese hacking operation known as Flax Typhoon, which involved the installation of malicious software on more than 200,000 consumer devices, including cameras, video recorders, and home and office routers. The compromised devices were then used to create a massive botnet capable of executing further cyber crimes. Just last month, officials disclosed that hackers linked to China had targeted the phones of former presidential candidate Donald Trump, his running mate Senator JD Vance, and individuals associated with Vice President Kamala Harris. The FBI and CISA are collaborating with the telecommunications industry and affected parties to strengthen defenses against ongoing cyberespionage attempts.
