Detail

New details continue to emerge about the recent hacking of American telecommunications companies by a Chinese hacking group. He targeted American officials and campaign staff. Now it turns out hackers’ reach was wider than previously thought. This could affect communications for “potentially thousands of Americans,” 24 Channel reported, citing The Wall Street Journal.

Last week, the New York Times reported that FBI investigators suspect a hacking group known as Salt Typhoon gained access to call logs and text messages. The group reportedly wiretapped the phones of diplomats and government officials, as well as people associated with both presidential campaigns.

Now WSJ says hackers “probably” working for Chinese intelligence US spent “eight months or more” on telecommunications infrastructureHe said that they may have accessed the data of thousands of people who were in contact with the people they targeted. In particular, criminals from the Chinese government have searched for call logs, unencrypted texts, and even some audio files.

The publication confirms previous reports that the hackers “limited their targets to a few dozen elected, senior political figures and individuals in the national security field.” But the hackers, who reportedly used routers used by telecommunications companies, “had the ability to access the phone data of nearly every American who was a customer of the compromised carrier, a group that includes AT&T and Verizon.”

Both AT&T and Verizon declined to comment for this report.