'Large number' of Americans' metadata has been stolen

5/12/2024 5:53

        A large number of Americans' metadata has been stolen in the
        sweeping cyberespionage campaign carried out by a Chinese
        hacking group dubbed "Salt Typhoon," a senior U.S. official told
        journalists on Wednesday.
        
        The official declined to provide specific figures but noted
        that China's access to America's telecommunications
        infrastructure was broad and that the hacking was still ongoing.
        
        "We believe a large number of Americans' metadata was
        taken," she told reporters. Pushed on whether that might include
        every American cell phone's records, the official said: "We do
        not believe it's every cell phone in the country, but we believe
        it's potentially a large number of individuals that the Chinese
        government was focused on."
        
        Dozens of companies across the world had been hit by the
        hackers, the official said, including "at least" eight
        telecommunications and telecom infrastructure firms in the
        United States.
        
        U.S. officials have previously alleged the hackers
        targeted Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Lumen
        and others and stole telephone audio intercepts along
        with a large tranche of call record data.
        
        Call record metadata is sometimes described as the who,
        what, when, and where of phone calls. It doesn’t include the
        content of a call but can include who a call was placed to, how
        long it lasted, and where it was made from. Even without the
        content, call record metadata — especially when captured in bulk
        — can reveal extraordinarily granular details about a person’s
        life, work, and intimate relationships.
        
        The official said the White House had made tackling the Salt
        Typhoon hackers a priority for the federal government and that
        President Joe Biden had been briefed several times on the
        intrusions.
        
        The press call occurred as U.S. government agencies were due
        to hold a separate, classified briefing for all senators on Salt
        Typhoon's efforts to compromise American telecommunications
        companies, according to officials and a notice seen by Reuters.
        
        The FBI, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines,
        Federal Communications Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel, the
        National Security Council and the Cybersecurity and
        Infrastructure Security Agency were set to take part in the 3
        p.m. ET (2000 GMT) closed-door briefing, the officials said.