The group known as 'Salt Typhoon' once again carried out a cyberattack against the United States, focusing on its lawmakers
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A group of hackers linked to Chinese intelligence managed to compromise email systems used by advisers to influential committees of the United States House of Representatives, in what constitutes one of the most serious episodes of foreign cyberespionage against the U.S. Legislative Branch in recent years.
According to the investigation, the group known as "Salt Typhoon" accessed email accounts used by staff of the House China Committee, as well as by advisers to the Foreign Affairs, Intelligence, and Armed Services committees.
These panels are among the most sensitive in Congress, since they oversee U.S. foreign policy, national defense, and intelligence agencies. Although it hasn't been publicly confirmed which specific officials were targeted, the scope of the access has caused deep concern in Washington.
El ataque fue atribuido al grupo de ciber espionaje ''Salt Typhoon''
The intrusions were reportedly detected in December, and so far it isn't clear whether the strikers managed to gain direct access to the emails of elected lawmakers or whether they were limited to staff accounts.
Even so, security experts consider that even access to advisers' communications represents a significant risk, given the level of classified or strategic information that they handle on a daily basis.
The Chinese government replied with a dubious denial. The spokesperson for China's embassy in Washington, Liu Pengyu, described the accusations as "groundless speculation," a response that has become a recurring pattern in the face of allegations of digital espionage.
La embajada china en Estados Unidos negó su participación en el ataque de forma dubitativa
However, this stance contrasts with the extensive record of cyber operations attributed to Chinese actors by Western intelligence agencies and private cybersecurity firms.
The FBI declined to comment on the case, while the White House and the offices of the affected committees didn't immediately respond to requests for information.
Nevertheless, lawmakers from both parties have repeatedly warned that China represents one of the most persistent and sophisticated threats in the field of cyberespionage.
The "Salt Typhoon" group, in particular, has caused alarm for years within the U.S. intelligence community. Authorities accuse it of operating on behalf of the Chinese state and of having carried out massive campaigns to collect sensitive data, including records of telephone communications of millions of U.S. citizens. Among the intercepted targets would be conversations of senior officials and top-tier politicians.
John Moolenaar, presidente de uno de los comités encargados de las relaciones entre China y Estados Unidos
This new incident adds to a series of previous attacks that demonstrate a systematic effort by actors linked to China to infiltrate key U.S. institutions.
In November of last year, the Office of the Senate Sergeant at Arms alerted multiple offices to a "cyber incident" in which hackers might have accessed communications between the Congressional Budget Office and Senate offices.
In 2023, a report stated that two senior lawmakers were the targets of a hacking operation linked to Vietnam, which underscores the growing digital pressure that Congress faces.
Despite Beijing's repeated denials, Washington has begun to respond more firmly. At the beginning of last year, the U.S. government imposed sanctions on hacker Yin Kecheng and on the cybersecurity company Sichuan Juxinhe Network Technology, accusing them of participating in activities related to "Salt Typhoon."
El gobierno de Trump impuso severas sanciones contra hackers y empresas chinas por su relación con el grupo ''Salt Typhoon''
