Cybersecurity Policy Report, Grassley Questions Federal Agencies About Salt Typhoon Hacks, (Nov 4, 2024)
Organizations Mentioned:AT&T | U.S. Secret Service | Verizon Communications
Federal agencies need to provide more information to Congress about a Chinese government cyber operation known as Salt Typhoon that’s targeting U.S. communications companies, according to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa).
The Salt Typhoon hackers reportedly breached networks at AT&T, Inc., Verizon Communications, Inc., and Lumen Technologies, Inc., and targeted the phones of U.S. presidential candidates and office-holders (CPR, Oct. 28), Sen. Grassley noted in letters to leaders of the Department of Homeland Security, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, U.S. Secret Service, Department of Justice, and Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“Allegedly, the group was able to collect audio from phone calls and unencrypted communications including text messages. It’s also reported that Salt Typhoon conducted another cyberattack this month targeting major telecom providers including AT&T and Verizon and the system the federal government uses for court-authorized network wiretapping requests. These breaches potentially exposed millions of Americans’ internet data and sensitive government information to China,” Sen. Grassley said in the letters, which were released today and dated Nov. 1.
“Unfortunately, this is not the first time U.S. foreign adversaries have hacked, or attempted to hack, into the devices and networks of current and former government officials,” he said. “Without additional information from the government, it appears that our adversaries are becoming more brazen while the agencies tasked with our nation’s security remain idle.”
He asked the recipients of the letters to provide additional information by Nov. 15 regarding the identities of the victims of the Salt Typhoon hacks and “specific steps” federal agencies were taking “to secure government data and the data of current and former government officials, private citizens, and affected companies from future cyberattacks,” among other things.
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