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Title: August 27, 2025

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Chinese hackers compromise 200 US companies in global campaign
 
A Chinese state-sponsored hacking campaign known as Salt Typhoon has reached unprecedented global scale, with FBI officials revealing that the operation has now compromised at least 200 U.S. companies and penetrated networks in over 80 countries worldwide. An unusually broad international coalition of 13 countries issued a joint cybersecurity advisory Wednesday exposing three Chinese technology firms that have enabled this massive espionage operation targeting critical infrastructure since at least 2019.
 
The FBI's Assistant Director Brett Leatherman told The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal that the scope of the Chinese spying campaign has expanded far beyond the nine U.S. telecommunications companies initially known to be compromised, revealing what investigators describe as one of the most sweeping cyber espionage operations in history.
 
Unprecedented International Response
 
The joint advisory, titled "Countering Chinese State-Sponsored Actors Compromise of Networks Worldwide to Feed Global Espionage System," represents an extraordinary alliance including the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand—the traditional "Five Eyes" intelligence partners—alongside Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Finland, Poland, and Spain.
 
"We are deeply concerned by the irresponsible behaviour of the named commercial entities based in China that has enabled an unrestrained campaign of malicious cyber activities on a global scale," said Richard Horne, chief executive of the U.K. National Cyber Security Centre.
 
The 37-page advisory specifically names three Chinese companies: Sichuan Juxinhe Network Technology Co. Ltd., Beijing Huanyu Tianqiong Information Technology Co., Ltd., and Sichuan Zhixin Ruijie Network Technology Co., Ltd. These firms are accused of providing "cyber-related products and services to China's intelligence services, including multiple units in the People's Liberation Army and Ministry of State Security".
 
Broader Infrastructure Targeting
 
The campaign extends well beyond telecommunications networks, with the advisory warning that Chinese state-sponsored actors are targeting "telecommunications, government, transportation, lodging, and military infrastructure networks" globally. The hackers focus on compromising large backbone routers of major telecommunications providers and often modify router firmware to maintain persistent, long-term access.
 
"The expectation of privacy here was violated, not just in the U.S., but globally," Leatherman told The Washington Post. "This shows much more broad, indiscriminate targeting of critical infrastructure across the globe in ways that go well outside the norms of cyberspace operations".
 
The operation has targeted call records of senior American politicians and officials, including President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance during the 2024 election cycle, allowing Chinese intelligence to map communication patterns and identify surveillance targets.
 
Technical Exploitation Methods
 
The advisory reveals that the threat actors have achieved "considerable success" by exploiting publicly known vulnerabilities rather than using sophisticated zero-day attacks. Key vulnerabilities include CVE-2024-21887 (Ivanti Connect Secure), CVE-2024-3400 (Palo Alto Networks), and various Cisco IOS XE flaws.
 
Major U.S. carriers confirmed as victims include AT&T, Verizon, Lumen Technologies, Charter Communications, and Windstream. The hackers gained access to sensitive wiretap systems used for lawful surveillance, creating what officials describe as a national security emergency.
 
Acting CISA Director Madhu Gottumukkala emphasized that "by exposing the tactics used by PRC state-sponsored actors and providing actionable guidance, we are helping organizations strengthen their defenses and protect the systems that underpin our national and economic security".
 

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