A huge amount of American metadata was stolen in a sweeping cyber-espionage campaign by a Chinese hacking group dubbed “Typhon Salt”, a senior US official told reporters on Wednesday.
The official declined to provide specific figures but noted that China’s access to US telecommunications infrastructure has been extensive and will continue.
“We believe a very large number of Americans’ metadata has been received,” said the official, who spoke to reporters on the condition that his name be withheld. Asked whether the records included American cellphones, the official said: “We don’t believe there are cellphones in the country, but we believe there is a potentially large number of people who are under Chinese control.”
Dozens of companies around the world have been hit by hackers, the official said, including “at least” eight telecommunications and telecom infrastructure firms in the United States.
US officials have previously alleged that the attackers targeted Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Lumen and others. T-Mobile said none of its customers’ data was stolen, and Lumen said there was no evidence the customer had access to its network, but, at least in the other cases, investigators are alleged to have stolen phone recordings. a large tranche of call record data.
Test metadata is sometimes described as who, what, when and where the phone was called. It does not include the content of the call, but may include who the call was sent to, how long it lasted, and where it came from. Even without content, the so-called metadata record — especially when captured in bulk — can reveal some granular details about a person’s life, work, and intimate relationships.
A White House official said that the Salt Typhoon hacker made the primary of the federal government and that Joe Biden was briefed several times in the intrusions.
The press call was made as a separate, classified briefing for US government agencies for all senators on Typhoon Salt’s efforts to disrupt American telecommunications companies.
Avril Haines, director of national intelligence for the FBI; Jessica Rosenworcel, chair of the Federal Communications Commission; National Security Council; and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency were among the participants in the brief closure, officials told Reuters.