Salt Typhoon: China’s Silent Cyberwar on Global Telecom Networks

A new wave of cyberattacks is targeting Cisco network devices worldwide, led by China’s state-sponsored hacking group, Salt Typhoon. Their focus? Telecommunications giants, universities, and high-profile political figures, with over 1,000 devices compromised across the U.S., South America, India, and beyond.

Who’s Being Targeted?

- Telecom Providers: Major companies like Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, and Lumen have been breached, allowing potential interception of call data from political leaders like Donald Trump and Kamala Harris’ staff.

- Universities: Institutions in Argentina, Indonesia, the U.S., and others are under attack—likely to steal research in telecommunications, AI, and encryption.

How Are They Doing It?

Salt Typhoon is exploiting two unpatched vulnerabilities in Cisco devices (CVE-2023-20198 & CVE-2023-20273) to gain deep, persistent access. The attacks are:

- Highly targeted, affecting only select devices.

- Methodical, with scans occurring at planned intervals.

- Stealthy, reconfiguring networks for long-term surveillance.

Chilling fact: Control over telecom networks allows adversaries to monitor private conversations, manipulate internet traffic, and disable networks during conflicts.

Why Cisco? Why Now?

With U.S. bans on Huawei, China may be retaliating by hijacking American-built networking infrastructure. This could signal a new era of cyber warfare, where instead of destructive attacks, adversaries embed themselves silently into critical networks.

Unique insight: Instead of building its own telecom empire, China may be hijacking existing infrastructure to gain hidden control.

Is Your Data Safe?

The real danger? Long-term infiltration. The hackers aren’t just stealing data; they’re embedding themselves inside the very systems that power global communication.

What You Can Do:

Patch all Cisco devices immediately

Monitor network traffic for anomalies

Adopt Zero Trust security frameworks

Salt Typhoon’s attacks mark a shift in cyber warfare, from loud, disruptive hacks to silent, deep-seated control over global networks. The question isn’t just about security anymore, it’s about who really controls the digital world.