In addition to previously reported breaches of major telecoms, the attacks by a threat group tracked as Salt Typhoon also impacted Charter Communications, Windstream and Consolidated Communications, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Three more names of U.S. telecommunications providers impacted in the attacks by the China-linked espionage group tracked as Salt Typhoon have now been disclosed, according to a report.
The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday that in addition to previously disclosed breaches of several major telecom firms, the Salt Typhoon hacks also affected Charter Communications, Windstream and Consolidated Communications.
[Related: 10 Major Ransomware Attacks And Data Breaches In 2024]
Consolidated Communications and Windstream declined to comment Monday. CRN has reached out to Charter Communications for comment.
The Salt Typhoon attacks had already been characterized, in comments by Sen. Mark R. Warner to The Washington Post in November, as the most significant hack to date of the U.S. telecommunications industry.
Last year, Salt Typhoon reportedly carried out a monthslong compromise of major carriers including Verizon and AT&T.
Media reports also indicated in November that T-Mobile had joined the list of major telecom firms compromised in the Salt Typhoon attacks, although the company said that sensitive data belonging to customers was not impacted in the campaign.
In December, a top U.S. national security official, Anne Neuberger, reportedly disclosed that a total of nine telecom firms were known to have been impacted in the Salt Typhoon attacks.
Media outlets reported in October that the Salt Typhoon attacks had targeted the campaigns of both of the then-candidates for president, Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, as well as then-vice presidential nominee JD Vance.
Some U.S. government officials did see their communications compromised in connection with the attacks, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency confirmed in a joint statement in November.
Sen. Ron Wyden released draft legislation in December that would force the Federal Communications Commission to “fix its own failure to fully implement telecom security requirements already required by federal law,” the senator’s office said in a news release.
