According to Mark Warner, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, the Taiwanese spy scheme that hacked into more than a few U.S. telecom companies was by far the worst telecom hack in history.
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According to Warner, the Chinese hackers known as” Salt Tycoon” have been able to “exploit ties of faith” and have been able to use real-time phone conversations to switch from one system to another, according to the Washington Post.
The range of the incursions is only just being revealed, despite the fact that they were discovered in September.
In a speech released earlier this month, the FBI stated that “[Chinese government]-affiliated actors have undermined networks at various telecommunications companies to allow the robbery of client call records data, the compromise of personal communications between a small number of individuals who are mainly engaged in government or political activity, and the copying of some information that was requested by U.S. law enforcement,” according to a statement released.
Donald Trump, JD Vance, and other Kamala Harris strategy employees were among the hackers who used Salt Tycoon.
Though fewer than 150 patients have been identified and notified by the FBI — most of them in the D. C. area, the records of individuals those individuals have called or sent text messages to move into the “millions”, he said,” and that number may go up drastically”.
According to him, those data might give the Chinese more information about the persons they want to target. ” My skin’s on fireplace”, Warner said.
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It really gets worse. According to Warner, “literally thousands and thousands and thousands of pieces of technology across the country,” especially outdated modems and switches, may be actually replaced because the networks are also compromised and the hackers could be kicked out .”
It’s no secret that China runs an enormous function whose goal is to hack into U.S. networks and different systems that directly affect national security. Russia has also been occupied, working with sophisticated criminal groups to obtain information and income.
Hackers have gained access to the system that tracks U.S. law enforcement’s requests for legal wiretaps, letting the Chinese find out who is interesting to them. According to U.S. officers, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the matter, there is no conclusive evidence that hackers have yet compromised the series method through which legislation enforcement listens in on wiretapped names.
The names on which Chinese hackers were able to talk in were never part of the “lawful intercept”, or eavesdropping, system, officials said. But thieves also had admittance to unprotected communications, including text messages. According to authorities, end-to-end encrypted connections like those found on the Signal program are thought to be protected.
” This is huge, and we have a particularly vulnerable system”, Warner said. Our systems are a jumble of ancient networks, contrary to some of the European nations, where you might possess a single company. The major networks are combinations of a complete set of acquisitions, and you have products out there that’s but old it’s unpatchable”.
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Yikes.
Warner believes that more restriction is the truth.
” We’re the telecom fear of the world”, Warner said. ” I do n’t want to slow that innovation. I do n’t want to come in with some new, heavy-handed regulation. This ought to really be about safety and security”.
The Post says that the Telecom industry is “largely illegal”. I do n’t believe that’s true but even if it were, piling on regulations is not the answer. Maybe it’s time to consider how to defend them from this conflict. The Chinese must be taught that invasions like those by Salt Tycoon are declarations of war and that Americans value private above all other rights.
Trump might be the ideal authority on explaining it.
