Washington, January 6: Salt Typhoon, a Chinese government-operated advanced persistent threat actor, has reportedly targeted more firms after its cyberattack affected major US telecom giants. Salt Typhoon attacked the telecommunication firms to gain access to geolocate individuals and record the calls, putting the whole nation at risk. However, the companies affected earlier assured that the cyberattack was limited despite its intensity and that only a few cases were compromised.

According to a new report by Android Headlines, the cyberattack carried out by Salt Typhoon affected more companies than previously known. Earlier, it was reported that only limited companies, including Verizon, AT&T, and Lumens, were affected; however, the Wall Street Journal added a few more names to the list that were compromised by the attack of a Chinese threat actor. Ethereum Co-Founder Vitalik Buterin Proposes 'Soft Pause' on Global Computing Power to Slow Down AI Superintelligence If It Becomes Dangerous.

In an early investigation, the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) revealed that eight companies were affected by the data breach attempts, and later, a ninth company was also added. However, only three names were highly reported, including Verizon, Lumens, and AT&T.  It was said that hackers got access to the call and SMS metadata of millions of US citizens.

The report highlighted that T-Mobile was also affected by the cyber breach, but it managed to stop it before the hackers were successful. WSJ added more names of the affected telecom firms, including Charter Communications, Windstream, and Consolidated Communications. Moreover, it mentioned that Fortinet's Unpatched network devices were also compromised during the hacking attempts. ‘Perhonen’: OpenAI Reportedly Working on Secret Project Likely Related to AI, AGI or Superintelligence, User Shares Screenshot; Check Details.

Android Headlines further mentioned that China's ability to conduct remote attacks continued to grow, sparking concerns for the United States. Regarding these claims of China-based attacks, Beijing officials have been in denial. They flatly said that there were no links to China. On the other hand, the FBI claimed that the Salt Typhoon group hacked several US-based firms because of China's support.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 06, 2025 04:28 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).