Canada’s cybersecurity agency, the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, has issued a warning that Chinese-backed hackers are likely responsible for a recent attack that compromised telecommunications infrastructure in the country. The agency confirmed that three network devices registered to a Canadian company were compromised in these attacks. In a joint bulletin (as seen by Bloomberg) released this week with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security urged Canadian organisations to strengthen their networks against the threat posed by Salt Typhoon, a hacking group with documented links to the Chinese government. The warning emphasises the ongoing risk and the need for immediate action to protect critical infrastructure.
What Canada’s cybersecurity agency said about the recent hacking incident
“The Cyber Centre is aware of malicious cyber activities currently targeting Canadian telecommunications companies. The responsible actors are almost certainly PRC state-sponsored actors, specifically Salt Typhoon,”the agency said, referring to the People’s Republic of China, reports Bloomberg.The agency also noted that separate investigations showing overlaps with indicators linked to Salt Typhoon indicate the cyber campaign “is broader than just the telecommunications sector.”According to the agency, the hackers will “almost certainly” continue attempting to infiltrate Canadian organisations — particularly telecom providers — over the next two years, the report adds.Beijing has consistently rejected US claims linking it to Salt Typhoon, a group first reported by The Wall Street Journal last year. In January, the US imposed sanctions on a Chinese company for allegedly being “directly involved” in the cyber intrusions, along with China’s Ministry of State Security.
