Information collected during the yearslong Salt Typhoon attack could allow Beijing’s intelligence services to track targets from the United States and dozens of other countries.
China has hacked into American power grids and companies for decades, stealing sensitive files and intellectual property such as chip designs as it seeks to gain an edge over the United States.
But a sweeping cyberattack by a group known as Salt Typhoon is China’s most ambitious yet, experts and officials have concluded after a year of investigating it. It targeted more than 80 countries and may have stolen information from nearly every American, officials said. They see it as evidence that China’s capabilities rival those of the United States and its allies.
The Salt Typhoon attack was a yearslong, coordinated assault that infiltrated major telecommunications companies and others, investigators said in a highly unusual joint statement last week. The range of the attack was far greater than originally understood, and security officials warned that the stolen data could allow Chinese intelligence services to exploit global communication networks to track targets including politicians, spies and activists.
Hackers sponsored by the Chinese government “are targeting networks globally, including, but not limited to, telecommunications, government, transportation, lodging, and military infrastructure networks,” the statement said.
British and American officials have described the attack as “unrestrained” and “indiscriminate.” Canada, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan and Spain were also signatories to the statement, which was part of a name-and-shame effort directed at the Chinese government.
“I can’t imagine any American was spared given the breadth of the campaign,” said Cynthia Kaiser, a former top official in the F.B.I.’s cyber division, who oversaw investigations into the hacking.
It was unclear whether the Salt Typhoon hack was intended to store ordinary people’s data or if that data was incidentally swept up in the attack. But its scope was broader than previous hacks, in which China more narrowly targeted Westerners working on security or other sensitive government issues, Ms. Kaiser said.
The Salt Typhoon hack could signal a new era of Chinese cyber capabilities that will test its strategic rivals, including the United States, security experts said. It highlights China’s ambitions for global influence, which were on display on Wednesday at an elaborate military parade in Beijing that featured fighter jets, tanks and thousands of troops marching across Tiananmen Square.
“In many ways, Salt Typhoon marks a new chapter,” said Jennifer Ewbank, the former C.I.A. deputy director for digital innovation. A decade ago, she noted, Western allies worried about China’s thefts of trade secrets, personal information and government data, which used more rudimentary techniques.
“Today, we see patient, state-backed campaigns burrowed deep into the infrastructure of more than 80 countries, characterized by a high level of technical sophistication, patience and persistence,” she added.
The Chinese Embassy in London did not respond to a message seeking comment.
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