U.S. telecommunications companies Windstream, Consolidated Communications, and Charter Communications were reported by the Wall Street Journal to have also been compromised by Chinese state-backed threat group Salt Typhoon in a cyberespionage operation previously confirmed to have targeted nine telcos across the country, including AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and Lumen Technologies, according to Reuters.
Attacks by Salt Typhoon also involved the targeting of vulnerable Fortinet network devices and large Cisco network routers, noted the WSJ citing individuals close to the matter. The WSJ's sources also disclosed that U.S. tech and telecommunications executives had been briefed by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in late 2023 regarding Chinese threat actors' capability to mount destructive cyberattacks against the country's power grids, ports, and other critical infrastructure. Such a development comes as AT&T, Lumen, and Verizon confirmed removing Chinese hackers' access from their respective networks, with the latter reporting that high-profile government clients had been aimed at by Salt Typhoon. Attempted attacks have also been thwarted by T-Mobile, which assured the safety of its sensitive customer data.
