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The FBI is offering up to $10 million for information about members of the Chinese hacking group Salt Typhoon and last year's attack that compromised the networks of several American telecommunications companies.
American authorities are promising potential informants not only a generous reward, but also assistance with relocation to the United States. In particular, law enforcement is interested in specific members of Salt Typhoon and how the group hacked several American telecommunications companies last year.
[td]“An investigation into the activities of these individuals revealed a large-scale and significant cyber campaign to exploit access to these networks to attack victims on a global scale,” the FBI wrote. “This activity resulted in the theft of call logs, a limited number of private messages related to victims, and the copying of selective information regarding U.S. law enforcement subpoenas.”[/td]The Salt Typhoon group, also known as RedMike, Ghost Emperor, FamousSparrow, Earth Estries, and UNC2286, is believed to have been active since at least 2019. Over the years, Salt Typhoon has repeatedly attacked telecommunications companies around the world, including in the United States.
The most notable Salt Typhoon attack, cited by the FBI, was discovered in the fall of 2024. At the time, The Wall Street Journal reported that Salt Typhoon had compromised several major telecommunications companies, including giants Verizon, AT&T, Lumen Technologies, and T-Mobile.
As part of the campaign, authorities reported at the time, the hackers were engaged in “extensive collection of internet traffic” from companies that served organizations and millions of ordinary Americans.
As a result, the Chinese hacking group stole data on calls and messages of certain individuals (involved in government and political activities), information on law enforcement requests received by telecommunications companies, and also gained access to a platform for wiretapping telephone conversations used by law enforcement agencies.
American authorities are promising potential informants not only a generous reward, but also assistance with relocation to the United States. In particular, law enforcement is interested in specific members of Salt Typhoon and how the group hacked several American telecommunications companies last year.
The most notable Salt Typhoon attack, cited by the FBI, was discovered in the fall of 2024. At the time, The Wall Street Journal reported that Salt Typhoon had compromised several major telecommunications companies, including giants Verizon, AT&T, Lumen Technologies, and T-Mobile.
As part of the campaign, authorities reported at the time, the hackers were engaged in “extensive collection of internet traffic” from companies that served organizations and millions of ordinary Americans.
As a result, the Chinese hacking group stole data on calls and messages of certain individuals (involved in government and political activities), information on law enforcement requests received by telecommunications companies, and also gained access to a platform for wiretapping telephone conversations used by law enforcement agencies.