Salt Typhoon cyberattack: Encrypted messaging apps and other ways to stay safe amid the Chinese telecom hack

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to be sucked into the plot of a Tom Clancy novel, millions of Americans are getting a taste of it this week. A large-scale cyberattack, focused on telecom companies and internet service providers including AT&T and Verizon, has Americans concerned that their messages and communications may have been exposed to Chinese spies.

The hacking campaign has been called “Salt Typhoon” by Microsoft (there are other “Typhoons”), and is one of the largest cyberattacks in history—and it’s ongoing. As of Tuesday, U.S. officials said they were still trying to expel the hackers, who have been traced back to the Chinese government, from American systems. Issues related to the cyberattack go back months, too.

Since then, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have been working with telecom companies to help find the hackers and prevent them from digging further into their systems.

As for where things currently stand, here’s what you need to know, and how to protect yourself.

What do we know about the telecom cyberattack so far?

The cyberattack has been ongoing, as noted, and officials are still trying to shore things up. On Wednesday, Senators received a classified briefing about the situation, and according to reporting from The Washington Post, the “broad and significant” campaign has resulted in the exposure and theft of a “large amount” of sensitive and private data and information.

So, private messages and phone calls may have been intercepted, and the hacking campaign even attempted to infiltrate both presidential campaigns earlier this year; one person from Donald Trump’s campaign did have calls intercepted. However, the FBI and CISA say that the number of people affected in the U.S. is small.

“We have identified that PRC-affiliated actors have compromised networks at multiple telecommunications companies to enable the theft of customer call records data, the compromise of private communications of a limited number of individuals who are primarily involved in government or political activity, and the copying of certain information that was subject to U.S. law enforcement requests pursuant to court orders,” reads a joint statement released last month.

Should you be worried about the cyberattack?

It depends. Unless you’re a high-profile political operative, or something similar, it’s probably unlikely that you’d be a target of the hackers. But the hackers have, obviously, been able to access call records and metadata—so if you can’t sleep at night knowing that you may be exposed, it may be worth taking precautions.

The main issue is that many people use unencrypted communication devices, leaving them vulnerable to cyberattacks. Beyond that, as NBC News reports, telecom companies largely rely on systems that do not use end-to-end encryption, mostly so that law enforcement agencies and intelligence groups can track people’s communications.

How can you protect yourself amid the cyberattack?

CISA and other organizations did release guidelines for hardening defenses against cyberattacks on Wednesday, but they are mostly for large organizations, such as telecom companies and internet service providers.

Perhaps the most impactful thing individuals can do to safeguard their communications is to use services incorporating end-to-end encryption—such as messaging services like Signal, rather than standard SMS text messaging. That should reduce the chance that your communications could be intercepted or exposed.

Furthermore, you should use a device that regularly receives software and security updates, and utilize features such as multi-factor authentication.