Informed Crypto News
AT&T security flaws exposed by Chinese hacks and crypto thefts
Headline, "ATT Security Flaw" is exposed by Chinese hacks and crypto thefts, published at 3.39 PM UTC October 7th, 2024 on Protos.com. Telecoms giant AT&T has suffered a serious network breach by China-linked hackers, revealed by the Wall Street Journal WSJ just days after a $24 million case of cryptocurrency theft was reopened against the firm. On Saturday, WSJ reported that U.S. broadband providers, Verizon, AT&T, and Lumen Technologies were among those found to have been targeted by SALT Typhoon, a highly sophisticated group believed to be sponsored by the Chinese state. The month's long breach appears to have extended to wiretap systems, meaning that hackers may have gained access to sensitive information used by the U.S. government for court-authorized wiretap requests. It remains unclear if foreign intelligence systems were also exposed, known among security experts as famous Sparrow and Ghost Emperor. SALT Typhoon has been targeting hotels, government organizations, and telecoms firms since 2019. The group appears to mainly gather intelligence and steal data rather than disrupt systems. Microsoft is reportedly investigating the breach. A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington told WSJ that China firmly opposes and combats cyber attacks and cyber theft in all forms. Subheading AT&T faces crypto theft case amid SALT Typhoon hack. While the far-reaching effects of the hack remain unclear, AT&T must also deal with a seven-year-old case of cryptocurrency theft that was unanimously reopened by an appeals court on Sunday, shining an extra spotlight on the responsibility of telecoms providers to protect customer data. Crypto investor Michael Turpin is seeking a total of $45 million in damages, interest, and legal fees from AT&T after an employee was bribed into copying Turpin's sim card, allowing a 15-year-old hacker dubbed "Baby Al Capone" to circumvent two-factor authentication and steal $24 million in cryptocurrency. Though originally filing 16 charges against AT&T, only three have stuck, those claiming that AT&T broke a responsibility to protect Turpin's sim card information under Section 222 of the Federal Communications Act referred to as Customer Proprietary Network Information, CPNI. Adopting AT&T's constrained view of CPNI would lead to absurd consequences. The three-judge panel of the ninth circuit court of appeals wrote following its decision. The high-profile nature of Turpin's crypto theft case against AT&T, coupled with what appears to be a major security breach by Chinese state-sponsored hackers, has placed extra pressure on telecoms providers to safeguard customer data and could set a legal precedent. The case Turpin v. AT&T will now be remanded to the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles for trial. This recording was AI-generated. Get more crypto news at protos.com.