Getty ImagesUS officials say hackers linked to the Chinese government are responsible for breaching security at major telecom companies and US agencies.
The latest hack was announced on Monday, It targeted the US Treasury, which described the hacking as a “major incident.”
Officials said the hackers gained access to employees' workstations and some unclassified documents. China denies its involvement.
This is the latest in a series of cyberattacks that have emerged in recent months against American and other Western targets.
What was hacked?
The Treasury hack followed news in late October that the two major US presidential campaigns had been targeted.
The FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (Cisa) said the hack targeting the White House campaigns was carried out by “actors affiliated with the People's Republic of China.”
In September, reports emerged of an operation that had managed to breach security at major telecom companies.
The White House recently said that at least nine companies were hacked, including telecom giants AT&T and Verizon.
And earlier in the year, in March, Seven Chinese nationals have been accused of running a hacking operation Which lasted at least 14 years and targeted critics of China, foreign companies and politicians.
Operations linked to Western governments in China have also targeted the UK Electoral Commission and the UK and New Zealand parliaments.
Who are hackers?
While full details have not yet been revealed, the hacks appear to be the work of several different units, each of which US authorities say is linked to the Chinese state.
Hacking groups are given titles by security companies. For example, the group behind the communications hack is commonly known as Salt Typhoon, which is the name given to it by researchers at Microsoft. Other companies called it “Famous Bird”, “Ghost Emperor” and “Earth Estre”.
Salt Typhoon is believed to be behind the telecom hack. There is a separate group called Volt Typhoon, It has been accused of breaking into critical infrastructure organizations for potential disruption attacks.
US Justice Department officials have linked the seven Chinese nationals accused of hacking to an operation known as Zirconium or Judgment Panda.
The UK's National Cyber Security Center says the same operation targeted emails of UK parliamentarians in 2021.
What was collected during the hacks?
ReutersThe recent hacks appear to be targeting powerful individuals and collecting data that could benefit the Chinese government.
Among others, they targeted the phones of President-elect Donald Trump, Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, and people working for Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign.
The hackers also gained access to a database of phone numbers subject to wiretapping by law enforcement, knowledge that experts say could be used to detect any foreign spies under surveillance.
The data of millions of Americans may have been compromised due to attacks on telecommunications companies.
Richard Furneaux, assistant director of the Cybersecurity Institute at the University of Maryland in Baltimore County, said Chinese efforts are directed toward a variety of goals.
“It's more general information gathering, let's see what we can come up with, see what we can find,” he said.
How concerned are American officials?
US lawmakers from both parties expressed concern about the hacks.
Democratic Senator Mark Warner called Salt Typhoon's activities “the worst communications breach in our nation's history.”
Brendan Carr, Trump's pick to chair the FCC, said the intelligence briefing on the hack was “deeply troubling.”
“The information I heard made me want to finally smash my phone,” he told CNBC.
FBI Director Christopher Wray recently said that Salt Typhoon's hack of telecom companies was “China's most significant cyberespionage campaign in history.”
He previously said that China's hacking program is bigger “than that of every other major country combined.”
Environmental Protection AgencyHow did the Western Allies respond?
In addition to the charges against the seven Chinese nationals, US authorities earlier this month warned China Telecom Americas, the US subsidiary of one of China's largest telecommunications companies, that it poses a threat to national security.
The company has 30 days to respond, and could eventually face a ban.
in may, The UK imposed sanctions on two people and Wuhan Xiaoruizhi Science and Technology Co., LtdWhich is said to be related to Judgment Panda.
Trump's new national security adviser, Mike Waltz, said foreign hackers should face “higher costs and consequences.”
Forno, of the UMBC Cybersecurity Institute, said the hacks may have been years in the making.
“China has traditionally taken a very long and strategic view on how it conducts its espionage and intelligence operations,” he said. “The United States tends to be more reactive and more concerned with immediate and clear results.”
What did China say?
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a press conference that the accusations were “baseless” and “lacked evidence.”
“China consistently opposes all forms of hacking and firmly rejects the spread of false information targeting China for political purposes,” Mao said.
“The United States should stop using cybersecurity to smear and discredit China, and stop spreading all kinds of disinformation about so-called Chinese hacking threats,” a Chinese embassy spokesperson said in a statement.
