How This Chinese APT Hacked the Entire U.S. Telecom Network – And What It Means for National Security
In recent months, a highly sophisticated cyber espionage campaign known as Salt Typhoon has targeted major U.S. telecommunications providers. Linked to Chinese state-sponsored threat actors, this campaign has exposed critical infrastructure and sensitive data through a combination of stolen credentials, advanced malware, and unpatched vulnerabilities. Let’s break down what happened, how it unfolded, and what can be done to prevent such attacks in the future. How Did the Attack Happen? The Salt Typhoon campaign relied on a mix of clever tactics and known vulnerabilities to infiltrate telecom networks. Here’s a closer look at the methods used: 1. Credential Theft & Lateral Movement Attackers gained initial access by stealing employee credentials. Once inside, they used compromised Cisco devices as pivot points to move across the network. 2. Exploited Cisco Vulnerabilities CVE-2018-0171 (Smart Install Remote Code Execution): Allowed attacke...