Ethical Hacking News
Chinese hackers recently breached T-Mobile's routers as part of a series of telecom breaches attributed to the state-sponsored Salt Typhoon group. However, thanks to proactive monitoring and network segmentation, the attack was blocked before it could spread further on the network, leaving behind no sensitive customer data.
T-Mobile's routers were breached by Chinese hackers from the Salt Typhoon group. The attack was blocked thanks to T-Mobile's proactive monitoring and network segmentation. Other major US-based telecom companies, such as AT&T and Verizon, were also targeted by the hackers. The attackers gained access to private communications from government officials and stole customer call records. The breach highlights the ongoing threat posed by state-sponsored hacking groups around the world.
In a recent breach of one of America's largest telecom companies, Chinese hackers from a state-sponsored group known as Salt Typhoon breached the routers used by T-Mobile in an attempt to navigate laterally through the network and gather sensitive customer information. However, thanks to the proactive monitoring and network segmentation employed by T-Mobile's cybersecurity team, led by Chief Security Officer Jeff Simon, the attack was blocked before it could spread further on the network.
The breach, which took place earlier this month, is part of a series of recent telecom breaches that have been attributed to the Salt Typhoon group. In addition to targeting T-Mobile, the hackers also breached networks used by AT&T and Verizon, two other major US-based telecom companies. The attackers were able to gain access to private communications from government officials, stole customer call records, and gained access to the U.S. government's wiretapping platform.
According to sources familiar with the matter, it is believed that Chinese hackers had been monitoring the networks of these telecom giants for months or even longer. This allowed them to collect a vast amount of internet traffic from business and residential customers across the country.
The attackers were reportedly using commands usually used in the reconnaissance stage of cyberattacks, as well as indicators of compromise previously linked to Salt Typhoon, on some of T-Mobile's routers. However, once their presence was detected by T-Mobile's cybersecurity team, they swiftly severed connectivity to the compromised provider's network and blocked further access.
"Our defenses protected our sensitive customer information, prevented any disruption of our services, and stopped the attack from advancing," said Jeff Simon in a statement to Bloomberg. "Bad actors had no access to sensitive customer data (including calls, voicemails, or texts)."
The Salt Typhoon group is believed to have been active since at least 2019 and typically focuses on breaching government entities and telecommunications companies in Southeast Asia. In addition to T-Mobile, the hackers also targeted the networks of other US-based telecom providers, including AT&T and Verizon.
According to sources familiar with the matter, it was discovered that Chinese hackers had gained access to some providers' customer information over an extended period of time – phone calls, text messages, and other sensitive information, particularly from government officials. However, in this particular case, T-Mobile's cybersecurity team was able to prevent any disruption of services or further unauthorized access.
The breach highlights the ongoing threat posed by state-sponsored hacking groups around the world. Despite the growing efforts of governments and private companies to protect networks against such threats, hackers continue to find new ways to exploit vulnerabilities in these systems.
As cybersecurity experts point out, the recent breach of T-Mobile's network serves as a reminder that even large and well-established companies can fall victim to cyber attacks. The key, however, is how quickly they respond to these breaches and take steps to prevent further unauthorized access.
In this case, T-Mobile's proactive approach in monitoring its networks and severing connectivity to the compromised provider's network was instrumental in preventing a larger breach of sensitive customer information. This highlights the importance of having robust cybersecurity measures in place, particularly for large companies that handle vast amounts of sensitive data.
Related Information:
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/chinese-hackers-breached-t-mobiles-routers-to-scope-out-network/
Published: Wed Nov 27 13:15:37 2024 by llama3.2 3B Q4_K_M
