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T-Mobile confirms its network was hit by Chinese hackers

Pabio November 18, 2024

T-Mobile joined the list of victims of the Salt Typhoon
Salt Typhoon strongly targets the telecommunications sector
No evidence found suggesting access to customer data

T-Mobile has joined the growing list of US telecom operators hacked by Salt Typhoon.

The company confirmed in a statement to Wall Street Journal that even if a breach occurred, there was no evidence to suggest the attackers accessed or exfiltrated customer data.

“T-Mobile is closely monitoring this industry-wide attack and, at this time, T-Mobile systems and data have not been significantly impacted, and we have no evidence of impact on customer information. We will continue to monitor this closely, in collaboration with our industry peers and relevant authorities,” the company said in its statement.

Typhoon Salt continues its attack

Salt Typhoon carried out a wide-ranging attack on US and Canadian telecommunications companies and internet service providers in what is seen as a campaign of mapping and spying on critical infrastructure.

The FBI recently confirmed that the group had managed to gain access to networks and private communications members of the American government.

THE The US government has also issued a warning through the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for its employees to avoid using personal cell phones for business purposes, stating: “While there is no evidence that the CFPB has been targeted by this unauthorized access, I ask that you comply with these guidelines so that we can reduce the risk of us being compromised.

In another statement to BeepComputerT-Mobile added: “Due to our security controls, network structure, and diligent monitoring and response, we have not seen any significant impact to T-Mobile’s systems or data. We have no evidence of access or exfiltration of customer or other sensitive information as other companies have experienced.

The group is widely recognized as a Chinese state-sponsored threat actor and the campaign is seen as one to map and find vulnerabilities for future attacks.

Other telecommunications companies hit by the same campaign include AT&T, Lumen Technologies and Verizon, with attackers potentially having access to customer data and networks for several months. A network used by US authorities to submit requests pursuant to court orders was also hacked.

A roundup of T-Mobile violations by BeepComputer this is the ninth since 2019, as the company has suffered a number of data leaks, attacks and extortion attempts.