Major cybersecurity attack from China exposes systematic flaws

Political tides are shifting as Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House and geopolitical tensions are already rising.

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Trump has already promised to levy strong tariffs against China, while the prominent U.S. trade partner is considering increasing its scrutiny of tech deals. Most focus has been on the prospect of a new trade war and what it could mean for U.S. consumers.

Recently, though, China has targeted the U.S. government in a way that has nothing to do with tariffs. A cyberattack against American telecom providers such as Verizon  (VZ) , AT&T  (T)  and T-Mobile  (TMUS) , has prompted a U.S. government agency to advise government officials to take quick action to prevent further data from being compromised.

This attack, titled Salt Typhoon, has been described by U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials as extremely important. But its implications may go beyond simply targeting prominent U.S. government officials.

A Chinese hacking campaign recently targeted prominent U.S. government officials who have been urged to lock down their devices. 

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Salt Typhoon is still wreaking havoc on the U.S. 

Weeks after news of the attack first broke, Salt Typhoon is still going on, according to Alejandro Mayorkas. The U.S. Homeland Security Secretary describes this large scale data breach as a “a very sophisticated hack” and noted that it did not take place overnight, highlighting the hackers’ coordinated efforts.

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According to NBC News, this hacking campaign represents one of the biggest intelligence compromises in the nation’s history, with eight U.S. telecom and internet service providers successfully breached.

The FBI disclosed to the campaigns of both Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris that they had been targeted, as had Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), U.S. Senate majority leader. 

On December 18, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released an advisory urging all government officials to lock down mobile devices in an attempt to prevent further loss of data.

Eric Brown, a former member of the United States Army Special Forces turned Founder and CEO of Imperio Consulting, isn’t surprised that high level government officials were targeted. But he sees the recent data breach as representing a tipping point that the U.S. government cannot afford to ignore. In his words:

“China’s strategy reflects a calculated risk, demonstrating confidence in their capabilities and a clear intent to push boundaries. This high-risk, high-reward approach aligns with their broader ambition to challenge U.S. influence globally.”

U.S. national security attorney and geopolitical analyst Irina Tsukerman has a similar take on the wide-ranging implications of Salt Typhoon. 

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“Now China has information about the full scope of the use of unsecured telecommunications by U.S. officials, providing them with ample opportunities to refine their targeting efforts going forwards,” she states.

Implications for both the public and private sector

The impacts of sophisticated attacks like Salt Typhoon can range far beyond geopolitics. As Tsukerman highlights, the successful hacking campaign may serve to highlight problems with the cybersecurity infrastructure deployed throughout the U.S.

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Other experts also see these attacks as exposing problems with the technology. Jeff Le, Vice President, Global Government Affairs and Public Policy spoke to TheStreet about the implications of Salt Typhoon on U.S. companies and data security.

“The telecommunications sector has unfortunately shown some vulnerability in its digital backbone and likely also in its supply chain,” he notes. “Countries around the world have had their critical infrastructure across multiple sectors (such as energy, healthcare, and transportation) tested and penetrated through the weakest link in the supply chain.”

Le adds that governments around the world will likely have questions for their technology partners regarding how to enhance their own security features.

That type of action could easily increase in the coming year, at least for the U.S., as cyberattacks from hostile nations have been rising lately. In January 2024, state-sponsored Russian hackers successfully breached Microsoft’s  (MSFT)  email system.

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Tsukerman cites this as an example of the need for action to prevent further cyberattacks, highlighting the trend of leading companies falling victim to well-coordinated attacks.

As Brown sees it, these breaches could easily strain the relationship between the U.S. government and tech sector, which he describes as already being fragile. 

However, he sees collaboration between the two as a necessary step, both for rebuilding trust in U.S. companies and enhancing national security, which will likely be compromised by the attack.

“The U.S. private sector must step up its cybersecurity protocols to prevent state-sponsored threats from exploiting systemic weaknesses,” he states. “The perception that U.S. companies cannot adequately protect sensitive data undermines their global competitiveness and could deter international partnerships.”

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