On Friday, deputy national security adviser Anne Neuberger told reporters that a ninth victim had been identified after the administration released guidance to companies about how to locate Chinese hackers in their networks.
The computer pirates committed the networks of telecommunications corporations to gather records of calls from visitors and personal communications of a limited number of people, authorities said.
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Anne Neuberger, Deputy National Security Advisor and Emerging Technologies, speaks at a press conference at the White House, on March 21, 2022, in Washington. (PENNSYLVANIA)
The FBI has not publicly identified any of the victims, but officials believe senior U.S. government officials and prominent political figures are among the victims whose communications were accessed.
Neuberger said that officials still did not have an exact idea of the total number of Americans attacked by Salt Typhoon, partly because the computer pirates were cautious in their methods, but said that a “large number” of victims were in Washington, D. C. and Virginia.
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Anne Neuberger, Deputy National Security Advisor for Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies, speaks at the daily press briefing at the White House on February 17, 2021 in Washington. (Getty Images)
The authorities said they believed that computer pirates sought to identify who owned the devices and spy of their text messages and telephone calls if they were “government goals,” said Neuberger.
Most of those affected are “mainly concerned about government or political activities,” said the FBI.
Neuberger said the hacking showed the need for required cybersecurity practices in the telecommunications industry, which the Federal Communications Commission is set to look at during a meeting next month.
U. S. and Chinese flags are raised before a meeting between U. S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng at the Diaoyutai State Pension in Beijing, China, Saturday, July 8, 2023. (Mark Schiefelbein/Pool Reuters)
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He also said, without providing details, that the government provided new measures in the coming weeks in reaction to the hacking campaign, not saying what they were.
“We know that voluntary cybersecurity practices are inadequate to protect against China, Russia and Iran hacking of our critical infrastructure,” she said.
The Chinese have denied responsibility for the piracy campaign.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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