Telecommunications
O2 UK patches bug leaking mobile user location from call metadata
A flaw in O2 UK’s implementation of VoLTE and WiFi Calling technologies could allow anyone to expose the general location of a person and other identifiers by calling the target. The problem was discovered by security researcher Daniel Williams. The flaw likely existed on O2 UK’s network since February 2023, and was resolved yesterday. O2 UK is […]
Mobile provider MTN says cyberattack compromised customer data
African mobile giant MTN Group announced that a cybersecurity incident has compromised the personal information of some of its subscribers in certain countries. MTN Group (formerly M-Cell) is Africa’s largest mobile network operator, with a strong Asian market presence. The company has nearly 300 million subscribers across 20 countries and an annual revenue surpassing $11 […]
FBI seeks help to unmask Salt Typhoon hackers behind telecom breaches
The FBI has asked the public for information on Chinese Salt Typhoon hackers behind widespread breaches of telecommunications providers in the United States and worldwide. In October, the FBI and CISA confirmed that the Chinese state hackers had breached multiple telecom providers (including AT&T, Verizon, Lumen, Charter Communications, Consolidated Communications, and Windstream) and many other telecom companies […]
SK Telecom warns customer USIM data exposed in malware attack
South Korea’s largest mobile operator, SK Telecom, is warning that a malware infection allowed threat actors to access sensitive USIM-related information for customers. SK Telecom is the largest mobile network operator in South Korea, holding approximately 48.4% of the mobile phone service market in the country, corresponding to 34 million subscribers. The company says they detected malware […]
Chinese Weaver Ant hackers spied on telco network for 4 years
A China-linked advanced threat group named Weaver Ant spent more than four years in the network of a telecommunications services provider, hiding traffic and infrastructure with the help of compromised Zyxel CPE routers. Researchers investigating the intrusion found multiple variants of the China Chopper backdoor and a previously undocumented custom web-shell called ‘INMemory’ that executes payloads […]
Chinese hackers use custom malware to spy on US telecom networks
The Chinese state-sponsored Salt Typhoon hacking group uses a custom utility called JumbledPath to stealthily monitor network traffic and potentially capture sensitive data in cyberattacks on U.S. telecommunication providers. Salt Typhoon (aka Earth Estries, GhostEmperor, and UNC2286) is a sophisticated hacking group active since at least 2019, primarily focusing on breaching government entities and telecommunications companies. […]
Chinese hackers breach more US telecoms via unpatched Cisco routers
China’s Salt Typhoon hackers are still actively targeting telecoms worldwide and have breached more U.S. telecommunications providers via unpatched Cisco IOS XE network devices. Recorded Future’s Insikt Group threat research division states that the Chinese hacking group (tracked Salt Typhoon and RedMike) has exploited the CVE-2023-20198 privilege escalation and CVE-2023-20273 Web UI command injection vulnerabilities. These ongoing attacks have […]
TalkTalk investigates breach after data for sale on hacking forum
UK telecommunications company TalkTalk is investigating a third-party supplier data breach after a threat actor began selling alleged customer data on a hacking forum. “As part of our regular security monitoring, given our ongoing focus on protecting customers’ personal data, we were made aware of unexpected access to, and misuse of, one of our third-party […]
FCC orders telecoms to secure their networks after Salt Tyhpoon hacks
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has ordered U.S. telecommunications carriers to secure their networks following last year’s Salt Typhoon security breaches. Today’s action comes after FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in early December that the FCC would act “urgently” to require U.S. carriers to secure their systems from cyberattacks. “We now have a choice to make. We […]
Telefónica confirms internal ticketing system breach after data leak
Spanish telecommunications company Telefónica confirms an internal ticketing system was breached after stolen data was leaked on a hacking forum. Telefónica is a Spanish multinational telecommunications company operating in twelve countries with over 104,000 employees. The company is the largest telecommunications firm in Spain, operating under the name Movistar. In an email to GeekFeed today, […]