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NEW YORK – T-Mobile’s network was among the systems hacked in a damaging Chinese cyber-espionage operation that gained entry into multiple US and international telecommunications companies, The Wall Street Journal reported on Nov 15, citing people familiar with the matter.
Hackers linked to a Chinese intelligence agency were able to breach T-Mobile as part of a months-long campaign to spy on the cellphone communications of high-value intelligence targets, the Journal added, without saying when the attack took place.
“T-Mobile is closely monitoring this industry-wide attack,” a company spokesperson told Reuters in an email.
“At this time, T-Mobile systems and data have not been impacted in any significant way, and we have no evidence of impacts to customer information.”
It was unclear what information, if any, was taken about T-Mobile customers’ calls and communications records, according to the WSJ report.
On Nov 13, The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the US cyber watchdog agency Cisasaid China-linked hackers have intercepted surveillance data intended for American law enforcement agencies after breaking into an unspecified number of telecom companies.
Earlier in October, the Journal reported that Chinese hackers accessed the networks of US broadband providers, including Verizon Communications, AT&T and Lumen Technologies, and obtained information from systems the federal government uses for court-authorized wiretapping.
Beijing has previously denied claims by the US government and others that it has used hackers to break into foreign computer systems. REUTERS
We spend so much of our lives online but have we thought about what will happen to our digital trails and assets when we die?
It is a question that came up for husband-and-wife content creators Muhammad Alif Ramli and Liyana Syahirah Ismail Johari.
Content creators Liyana Syahirah Ismail Johari and Muhammad Alif Ramli documented their journey in seeking help to manage digital assets.
They realise, for example, if no clear instructions are left behind, not knowing the passwords or about dormant accounts on long-forgotten platforms can pose problems.
It is especially important, given Mr Alif’s medical history.
When Mr Alif was 10, he was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a soft tissue cancer. He underwent multiple chemotherapy cycles and nine surgical operations, which the 28-year-old described as a “close-to-death experience”, before he recovered.
In the fourth episode of The Straits Times’ docuseries Let’s Talk About Death, Mr Alif and Ms Liyana, 27, seek help from experts to consolidate their digital assets.
They speak to a cyber security expert to find out how to best manage their passwords. They also talk to a lawyer who specialises in digital assets to look into protecting their social media accounts, which may generate revenue in the future.
Finally, Mr Alif and Ms Liyana also attempt to write their wills with the help of artificial intelligence tools, with the key question being: Will they be valid under syariah law?
Let’s Talk About Death is a five-episode docuseries that follows several millennials and their loved ones as they navigate end-of-life planning, and it starts honest conversations about death and dying well.
A breach of telecoms companies that the United States said was linked to China was the “worst telecom hack in our nation’s history – by far”, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee told the Washington Post on Thursday.
Earlier this month, U.S. authorities said China-linked hackers had intercepted surveillance data intended for American law enforcement agencies after breaking into an unspecified number of telecom companies.
The hackers compromised the networks of “multiple telecommunications companies” and stole U.S. customer call records and communications from “a limited number of individuals who are primarily involved in government or political activity,” according to a joint statement released by the FBI and the U.S. cyber watchdog agency CISA on Nov. 13.
Beijing has repeatedly denied claims by the U.S. government and others that it has used hackers to break into foreign computer systems.
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters on Thursday night.
There were also reports Chinese hackers targeted telephones belonging to then-presidential and vice presidential candidates Donald Trump and JD Vance, along with other senior political figures, raising widespread concern over the security of U.S. telecommunications infrastructure.
“This is an ongoing effort by China to infiltrate telecom systems around the world, to exfiltrate huge amounts of data,” Mark Warner told the Washington Post.
The breach went further than the Biden administration has acknowledged, with hackers able to listen to telephone conversations and read text messages, Warner was cited as saying in a separate interview by the New York Times.
“The barn door is still wide open, or mostly open,” he told the publication. REUTERS
SINGAPORE – Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., Singapore’s largest mobile carrier, was breached by Chinese state-sponsored hackers this summer as part of a broader campaign against telecommunications companies and other critical infrastructure operators around the world, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The previously undisclosed breach was discovered in June, and investigators believe it was pulled off by a hacking group known as Volt Typhoon, according to the two people, who asked not to be identified to discuss a confidential investigation.
Officials in the US, Australia, Canada, the UK and New Zealand – the “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing alliance – warned earlier in 2024 that Volt Typhoon was embedding itself inside compromised IT networks to give China the ability to conduct disruptive cyberattacks in the event of a military conflict with the West.
The breach of Singtel, a carrier with operations throughout South-east Asia and Australia, was seen as a test run by China for further hacks against US telecommunications companies, and information from the attack has provided clues about the expanding scope of suspected Chinese attacks against critical infrastructure abroad, including in the US, the people said.
In an e-mailed response to queries from Bloomberg News, Singtel did not directly address questions about the alleged breach. “We understand the importance of network resilience, especially because we are a key infrastructure service provider,” the company said. “That’s why we adopt industry best practices and work with industry-leading security partners to continuously monitor and promptly address the threats that we face on a daily basis. We also regularly review and enhance our cybersecurity capabilities and defences to protect our critical assets from evolving threats.”
A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, Liu Pengyu, said he was not aware of the specifics, as relayed by Bloomberg, but that in general, China firmly opposes and combats cyberattacks and cybertheft.
The US is currently battling its own suspected Chinese attacks of political campaigns and telecommunications companies. Officials have described the telecom breaches as one of the most damaging campaigns on record by suspected Chinese hackers and one that they are still seeking to fully understand and contain.
In the US telecommunications attacks, which investigators have attributed to another Chinese group called Salt Typhoon, AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. are among those breached, and the hackers potentially accessed systems the federal government uses for court-authorised network wiretapping requests, the Wall Street Journal reported in early October.
US intelligence officials think the Chinese hacking group that Microsoft Corp. dubbed Salt Typhoon may have been inside US telecommunications companies for months and found a route into an access point for legally authorised wiretapping, according to a person familiar with their views.
AT&T declined to comment. Verizon did not respond to a request for comment.
Through those intrusions, the hackers are believed to have targeted the phones of former President Donald Trump, running mate JD Vance and Trump family members, as well as members of Vice-President Kamala Harris’ campaign staff and others, the New York Times has reported.
In the case of the alleged Singtel breach, one of the people familiar with that incident said the attack relied on a tool known as a web shell.
In August, researchers at Lumen Technologies Inc. said in a blog post they assessed with “moderate confidence” that Volt Typhoon had used such a web shell. A sample of the malware was first uploaded to VirusTotal, a popular site for security experts to research malicious code, on June 7 by an unidentified entity in Singapore, according to Lumen researchers.
The web shell allowed hackers to intercept and gather credentials to gain access to a customer’s network disguised as a bona fide user, they said.
The hackers then breached four US firms, including internet service providers, and another in India, according to Lumen researchers.
General Timothy Haugh, director of the National Security Agency, said in early October that the investigations into the latest telecommunications breaches were at an early stage. Later in October, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said they had identified specific malicious activity by actors affiliated with the Chinese government and immediately notified affected companies and “rendered technical assistance.”
A spokesperson for the National Security Council last week referred to the “ongoing investigation and mitigation efforts,” but directed further questions to the FBI and CISA.
Singtel uncovered the breach of its network after detecting suspicious data traffic in a core back-end router and finding what it believed was sophisticated, and possibly state-sponsored, malware on it, according to the other person familiar with the investigation.
The malware was in “listening” mode and didn’t appear to have been activated for espionage or any other purpose, the person said, adding that it reinforced a suspicion that the attack was either a test run of a new hacking capability or that its purpose was to create a strategic access point for future attacks.
There is evidence that Salt Typhoon reached the US at least as early as spring 2024, and possibly long before, and investigators tracking the group think it has infiltrated other telecommunications companies throughout Asia, including in Indonesia, Nepal, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, according to two people familiar with those efforts.
The NSA has warned since 2022 that telecommunications infrastructure was vulnerable to Chinese hacking. Volt Typhoon has been active since at least mid-2020, having attacked sensitive networks in Guam and elsewhere in the US with a goal of burrowing into critical infrastructure and staying undetected for as long as possible.
The hacks by both Chinese Typhoon groups have alarmed Western officials and raised concerns about the number and severity of backdoors – a way to get around security tools and gain high-level access to a computer system – that China has placed inside critical IT systems. Those entry points could be used to conduct espionage or prepare the battlespace for use in a potential military conflict with the West.
Chinese hackers have long been accused of conducting espionage attacks against the US – including, most notably, the theft of security clearance applications for tens of millions of US government workers held by the Office of Personnel Management.
But officials say the latest hacks go a step further and in some cases suggest China may be amassing capabilities to disrupt or degrade critical services in the US and abroad.
Paul Nakasone, a retired general who led the NSA for nearly six years until February, told reporters in October that the latest telecommunications hacks by Salt Typhoon were distinguished by their scale, and that the two Chinese groups represent a tremendous challenge for the government. “I am not pleased in terms of where we’re at with either of the Typhoons,” he said. BLOOMBERG
A child in California has become the first in the United States to test positive for bird flu infection, authorities said on Nov 22, as health officials offered checks and preventive treatment to exposed contacts at the child’s day-care centre.
The child, from Alameda County in the San Francisco Bay area, had mild symptoms and was said to be recovering at home following treatment with flu antivirals, according to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).
As a precaution, close family members of the child were tested, with all results coming back negative.
Local officials have also contacted caregivers and families at the day-care facility, where the child showed mild symptoms before testing positive.
Chinese hackers preparing for conflict, says US cyber official
Chinese hackers are positioning themselves in US critical infrastructure IT networks for a potential clash with the United States, a top American cybersecurity official said on Nov 22.
Ms Morgan Adamski, executive director of US Cyber Command, said Chinese-linked cyber operations are aimed at gaining an advantage in case of a major conflict with the US.
Officials have warned that China-linked hackers have compromised IT networks and taken steps to carrying out disruptive attacks in the event of a conflict.
Ukraine to step up air defence development after missile ‘test’
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Nov 22 that Ukraine was working on developing new types of air defence to counter “new risks” following Russia’s deployment of a new medium-range missile in the 33-month war.
Mr Zelensky, in his nightly video address, said testing a new weapon for purposes of terror in another country was an “international crime” and issued a new call for a world-wide “serious response” to keep Russia from expanding the war.
He was speaking a day after Russia fired a new intermediate-range weapon – called Oreshnik (hazel tree) – into Ukraine for the first time. Ukraine said the missile reached a top speed of more than 13,000kmh and took about 15 minutes to reach its target from its launch.
Americans say you need a $364,000 salary to be ‘successful’
The price of success? About US$270,000 (S$364,000) a year.
That is the annual salary it takes to be considered financially successful, according to a survey released on Nov 22 by financial services company Empower. The hurdle for net worth is US$5.3 million, according to respondents.
Those numbers are well beyond the reach of most Americans.
New Ultimate Championship will be athletics ‘gamechanger’
World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said on Nov 22 the new Ultimate Championship team event, officially unveiled by the sport’s governing body, would be a “gamechanger” for track and field.
The inaugural event will be held in Budapest on Sept 11-13, 2026, and it will be staged every two years to fulfil World Athletics’ ambition of holding a global championship every year.
The federation said the event would provide “a spectacular conclusion to the summer athletics season, in the years where there is no World Athletics Championships”.
PETALING JAYA – The National Cyber Security Agency (Nacsa) says it is currently investigating reports alleging that the MyKad, or Malaysian identity card, data of 17 million Malaysians has been leaked and is being sold on the dark web.
“We understand this is a concerning issue for the public and want to assure you that we are taking it very seriously,” said a spokesperson in a statement issued Dec 4 to LifestyleTech.
“Our experts are investigating the situation thoroughly to verify the authenticity of these claims and assess the extent of any potential compromise.
“Nacsa is committed to safeguarding personal data and will take necessary action based on our findings.”
Dark web threat intelligence firm StealthMole first highlighted the issue on Dec 3 on X, stating that threat actors claim to be in possession of MyKad data belonging to 17 million Malaysians and are offering it up for sale on the dark web.
“As proof, they have publicly shared samples of Malaysian ID cards on the dark web,” the company wrote in the post.
“This massive data breach raises concerns as it could lead to serious crimes like identity theft and financial fraud.”
Nacsa said it will provide updates as more information becomes available while also urging the public to “avoid spreading unconfirmed reports and only refer to verified information from the authorities”.
It further advises monitoring bank accounts and credit reports for suspicious activity, remaining cautious of unsolicited communications, refraining from clicking on links or opening attachments from unknown senders, using strong passwords, keeping software up to date, and practising good cyber hygiene. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK