Chinese hackers allegedly hit US wiretap systems to hit broadband networks
China uses US’s spying as a shortcut
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In an all too predictable turn of events, Salt Typhoon, an infamous Chinese state actor, has reportedly hijacked government systems to breach several American broadband providers and gain access to the interception portals required by US law.
Research by theWall Street Journalhas revealed amongst those breached were US telecoms giants Verizon and AT&T, as well as ISP Lumen Technologies, where hackers may have had access to a ‘vast collection of internet traffic’ for months, including court-ordered wiretaps collected in the name of national security.
The US has long pressured telecoms companies to develop infrastructure for ‘lawful interception’ so that they can access communications from network users, but of course, if the access systems exist, they can be exploited.
All’s fair in love and backdoors
China unequivocally denies the allegations that it uses hackers to access government information, and said that the US has concocted a ‘false narrative’ to frame China in the past.
Salt Typhoon recently hit the headlines foranother suspected attack on American ISPs, and due to its name, has been linked to other Chinese state-sponsored groups, all of whichMicrosoftnamed ‘typhoon’ - Flax Typhoon, Volt Typhoon, and Brass Typhoon, which are reportedly working in coordination to assist the Chinese government in achieving its geo-political goals, including a possible invasion of Taiwan.
As technology becomes even more integrated in our day-to-day lives, the capacity for surveillance and spyware only expands. Major telecommunications firms are forced to ‘cooperate’ in the name of national security by building backdoors for law enforcement orturn devices into ‘spy machines’.
Regardless of your opinion on your own government using surveillance techniques on its own people, the existence of these access systems mean that they can be compromised by threat actors or tech companies and used without your consent.
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The US surveillance machine is not just contained within the states either, as these invasions are often used against foreigners living overseas, meaning no one is out of reach for Big Brother.
To try and mitigate this, we’ve listed thebest VPN servicesaround to help keep your information private.
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Ellen has been writing for almost four years, with a focus on post-COVID policy whilst studying for BA Politics and International Relations at the University of Cardiff, followed by an MA in Political Communication. Before joining TechRadar Pro as a Junior Writer, she worked for Future Publishing’s MVC content team, working with merchants and retailers to upload content.
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