- Salt Typhoon Allegedly Compromised US House Committee on China, Foreign Affairs and Defense Staff Emails
- The extent of the intrusion remains unclear; The FBI and White House have not made public comments.
- The group is part of China’s “Typhoon” nexus, known for telecommunications violations
Salt Typhoon, the infamous Chinese state-sponsored threat actor best known for its raids on Western telecommunications companies, has been caught spying on Western communications once again.
This time, compromising emails used by staff members of “powerful committees of the United States House of Representatives” were allegedly seen. Earlier this week, the Financial Times reported the findings, citing people familiar with the matter, and saying that the attackers accessed email systems used by some staff members of the House of Representatives committee on China.
In addition, attendees of panels covering foreign affairs, intelligence and the armed forces were also attacked. However, no specific names were revealed.
Who are Salt Typhoon?
What is also unclear is the scope of the incident and the depth to which the attackers managed to penetrate the systems. It is apparently unclear whether the attackers accessed emails from elected officials or just staff.
The FBI and White House have not yet commented on the reports, while Chinese embassy spokesman Liu Pengyu called them “baseless speculation and accusations.”
Salt Typhoon is a Chinese state-sponsored threat actor and part of a broader nexus of “Typhoon” groups, including Brass Typhoon, Volt Typhoon, and Flax Typhoon. These groups are tasked with conducting cyber incursions that align with the interests of the Chinese state: cyber espionage, data theft, and persistent access to critical infrastructure.
In October last year, cybersecurity researchers Darktrace said they saw Salt Typhoon targeting communications networks in Europe, and before that, they were seen breaching at least eight US telecommunications companies, including T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T and Lumen Technologies. Officials said Salt Typhoon victims are located in dozens of countries around the world, and typically use stealth techniques such as downloading DLL files and zero-day exploits.”
Every time similar news emerges, the Chinese vehemently deny all accusations and instead point the finger at the United States, describing them as the world’s biggest cyberbully.
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