US Accuses ‘Salt Typhoon’ Chinese Hacking Group of Major Metadata Theft

Chinese hackers have stolen the metadata of numerous Americans in a wide-ranging cyber-espionage campaign that has targeted at least eight US telecom firms and affected dozens of other countries, according to officials.

Deputy National Security Adviser Anne Neuberger confirmed on Wednesday that the hacking group, known as Salt Typhoon, had accessed communications of senior US government officials and political figures. However, she assured that “classified communications” had not been compromised.

A senior official, speaking during a closed-door briefing for US senators on Wednesday, revealed that “the Chinese government” had focused its efforts on “a large number of individuals” as part of the ongoing campaign, which targeted dozens of telecommunications companies and telecom infrastructure providers globally, including at least eight in the United States.

This incident marks the latest in a series of alleged Chinese cyberattacks on US data. In October, US federal authorities confirmed that hackers linked to China had targeted then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, his running mate JD Vance, and individuals connected to Vice President Kamala Harris.

Previous allegations have accused Chinese hackers of breaching US telecom companies such as Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Lumen. T-Mobile stated it did not believe hackers had accessed customer data, while Lumen reported no evidence of such an intrusion on its network.

On Tuesday, the Chinese embassy in Washington denied responsibility for the cyberattack after US authorities issued new guidance to telecom companies on issues such as encryption and monitoring. 

“The US needs to stop its own cyberattacks against other countries and refrain from using cybersecurity to smear and slander China,” embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said.

The stolen metadata does not include the content of the calls but can reveal critical details, such as the identities of those involved, the duration of calls, and their locations. Even without the actual conversation, such metadata can expose highly personal information about an individual’s life, work, and relationships.

A Senate commerce subcommittee is scheduled to hold a hearing on December 11 to discuss Salt Typhoon and broader security threats to communications networks.

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