The FBI has issued a warning to Americans about frequent texting between Androids and iPhones.
The agency revealed that the exchange between the two types leaves messages vulnerable to hackers.
Instead, users are advised to use secure, encrypted messages and calls on apps like WhatsApp to avoid third parties. get a conversation.
The warning comes as Chinese hackers are said to have hacked several US networks that are ‘ongoing and possibly larger than previously thought.’
Dubbed Salt Typhoon, the cyberespionage campaign took place this year when hackers attacked several telecommunications companies.
Thieves took advantage of their opportunity target metadata of a large number of customers, including information about dates, times and recipients of calls and texts.
They were also able to recover the actual phone audio files and text content from a few of the victims.
Although months of research, the actual scale of China‘s work, including the number of victims or hackers still have some access to know, is currently unknown.
The FBI warns iPhone and Android users to use end-to-end encryption for text messages between hackers accessing their content.
Jeff Greene, CISA’s assistant director of cybersecurity, issued a dire warning on Tuesday, urging Americans to be vigilant about the hacking campaign.
He said Politics that people should ‘use your encrypted messages where you have them,’ adding that ‘we really have to, let’s look at what that means in the long term, how we protect our networks.’
Encryption software protects users’ data by making their phone calls and text messages anonymous to prevent unauthorized access.
“Our idea, what we’ve told people internally, is that it’s not new here: hide it from your partner, whether it’s texting or if you can use a password,” Greene said. NBC News.
‘Even if the adversary can tamper with the data, if it is encrypted, this will be possible.’
Several recent incidents have been linked to China and what officials say is Beijing’s attempt to steal technical and government secrets and gain access to critical infrastructure such as electricity.
In September, the FBI announced it had busted a major Chinese operation that involved installing malware on more than 200,000 consumer devices, including cameras, video recorders and home and office routers.
Jeff Greene, CISA’s assistant director of cybersecurity, issued a dire warning on Tuesday, urging Americans to be vigilant amid the search.
These tools were used to create large infected computer systems, or botnets, that could be used to carry out other cyber attacks.
In October, officials said hackers linked to China tapped the phones of then-president-elect Donald Trump and his partner, Sen. JD Vance, along with associates of Vice President Kamala Harris.
China has denied US officials’ accusations of cyberespionage against Americans.
On Tuesday, a spokesman for China’s embassy in Washington called the US claims ‘confounding.’
The Chinese government “strongly opposes and counters all forms of online protests,” spokesman Liu Pengyu wrote in a statement sent to The Associated Press. ‘The US must stop its cyberattacks against other countries and refrain from using cyber security to smear and insult China.’
