The FBI has issued a stark warning against sending text messages between Apple and Android phones due to massive and ongoing cyberattacks. The US intelligence agency disclosed that communications between these devices are at risk of being intercepted by hackers, putting personal data security on high alert.
Consequently, individuals are encouraged to switch to secure, encrypted messaging services such as WhatsApp to protect their conversations. Highlighting the significance of encryption, Jeff Greene, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) executive assistant director for cybersecurity, asserted, “Use your encrypted communications where you have it,” and added, “Even if the adversary is able to intercept the data, if it is encrypted, it will make it impossible.”
This alert accompanies reports of an expansive cyberespionage effort dubbed Salt Typhoon, carried out by Chinese hackers, which emerged earlier this year. The campaign hit numerous global telecommunications networks, allowing hackers to extract metadata—details such as the dates, times, and participants of communications—and sometimes even the actual content of calls and messages.
While the FBI has been probing the incursions for several months, the full scale of the infiltration is yet to be determined.
Officials are yet to ascertain the number of victims or whether hackers still have access to sensitive data. Encrypted messaging apps are now being touted as a vital defence against such threats, with these apps safeguarding users by turning calls and texts into an indecipherable format, thus blocking unauthorised access, reports the Mirror.
“Our suggestion, what we have told folks internally, is not new here: encryption is your friend,” Greene remarked. “We definitely need to do that, kind of look at what it means long-term, how we secure our networks.”
The gravity of the threat has been highlighted by recent high-profile hacking incidents linked to China.
In September, the FBI announced it had disrupted a hacking operation that had infected over 200,000 devices, including cameras, video recorders, and home routers, with malicious software. The latest warning from the FBI emphasises the escalating danger of cyberattacks on telecom infrastructure and the pressing necessity for users to engage in more secure practices.
China has consistently denied claims by US officials of engaging in cyberespionage. A spokesperson for China’s embassy in Washington DC branded the allegations as “disinformation.”
“China’s government ‘firmly opposes and combats all kinds of cyber attacks,'” Liu Pengyu stated.
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