US suffered ‘worst telecom hack’ in history – senator

Hackers allegedly exploited systems set up by US authorities to wiretap Americans

National security advisors and other senior officials from the outgoing Biden administration held a meeting with top executives from major telecommunications companies on Friday to discuss what is being described as “by far” the worst breach in the country’s history.

Earlier this month, US authorities accused alleged Beijing-linked hacking group ‘Salt Typhoon’ of intercepting surveillance data gathered and stored by the telecoms for American law enforcement agencies. The perpetrators allegedly intercepted text messages and audio from an unknown number of calls during a large-scale operation that lasted for months.

Senator Mark Warner, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, called the breach the “worst telecom hack in our nation’s history – by far,” following a hearing this week. “The barn door is still wide open, or mostly open.”

On Friday, national security adviser Jake Sullivan and deputy national security adviser Anne Neuberger hosted a meeting with the telecommunications industry at the White House, though it is unclear who exactly was present.

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“The meeting was an opportunity to hear from telecommunications sector executives about how the US government can partner with and support the private sector in hardening against sophisticated nation-state attacks,” the White House said in a statement.

The FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a joint statement on November 13, blaming the intrusion on China and admitting that the stolen information had been gathered and stored as part of “legal” surveillance on American suspects.

“Specifically, we have identified that PRC-affiliated actors have compromised networks at multiple telecommunications companies to enable the theft of customer call record data, the compromise of private communications of a limited number of individuals primarily involved in government or political activity, and the copying of certain information that was subject to US law enforcement requests pursuant to court orders,” they wrote.

The scope of the breach is still under investigation. Reports indicate that fewer than 150 victims have been notified by the FBI so far, most of whom are located in the Washington DC area. However, since those affected likely called or texted numerous people, the number of records accessed by hackers could be significantly higher.

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An unnamed adviser to the campaign of President-elect Donald Trump is also said to be among those whose conversations were intercepted, according to a report last month by the Washington Post. It remains unclear whether the adviser’s information was also “subject to US law enforcement requests.” In 2016, the FBI used the fabricated Steele Dossier to obtain court permission to spy on Trump’s campaign and undermine his presidency.

Beijing has repeatedly denied hacking allegations and claims by Washington that it is attempting to meddle in the US electoral process. The Chinese Embassy in Washington previously stated it was unaware of the activities of ‘Salt Typhoon’ and accused the US of fabricating evidence of Beijing’s involvement in cyberattacks to “smear China.”