The Biden administration revealed that Chinese hackers, in a campaign dubbed Salt Typhoon, compromised the networks of telecommunications companies to gain access to private communications of Americans. While the exact number of victims remains unclear, officials believe a 'large number' in the Washington-Virginia area were affected, including potentially senior government officials and political figures. The hackers sought to identify phone owners and, if they were government targets, spy on their texts and calls.
FILE - Anne Neuberger, Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology , speaks during a press briefing at the White House,March 21, 2022, in Washington. that gave officials in Beijing access to private texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans, a top White House official said Friday.
But deputy national security adviser Anne Neuberger told reporters Friday that a ninth victim had been identified after the administration released guidance to companies about how to hunt for Chinese culprits in their networks. The hackers compromised the networks of telecommunications companies to obtain customer call records and gain access to the private communications of what officials have said is a a limited number of individuals. Though the FBI has not publicly identified any of the victims, officials believe senior U.S. government officials and prominent political figures are among those whose whose communications were accessed.
Officials believe the goal of the hackers was to identify who owned the phones and, if they were "government targets of interest," spy on their texts and phone calls, she said.
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