The FBI complained to iPhone and Android users on Tuesday that stop texting for fear that their messages may be stolen.
The move came as the agency found exchanges between the two brands leaving communications vulnerable, saying Americans would use encrypted software like. WhatsApp to prevent other people from accessing the conversation.
The warning comes in the wake of a Chinese-linked hacking campaign known as Salt Typhoon that has reportedly breached several US networks.
Now, US officials have revealed that a A ‘significant amount’ of American phone data was stolen during the attack.
“The scale and depth of Chinese hacking is staggering — that we would allow what has happened in the last year is appalling,” Senator Richard Blumenth said at a briefing Wednesday.
Deputy National Security Adviser Anne Neuberger said China-related efforts have breached at least eight US companies and dozens of other countries since they emerged earlier this year.
Government agencies have spent the past few months investigating the Asian nation’s performance, but have come up empty.
White House officials say at least eight US companies have been targeted by the Chinese campaign. The statement comes as the FBI warned iPhone and Android users against texting
Salt Typhoon already directed the phones about Donald Trump and Sen. JD Vancetogether with people associated with the Vice President Kamala Harris.
AT&T, Verizon, Lumen Technology and T-Mobile confirmed the violations.
Jeff Greene, CISA’s assistant director of cybersecurity, said: “At this point, the strict guidelines we’ve put in place have made the work we’ve seen for victims difficult to continue.
‘This isn’t just a distraction based on how vulnerable the victim is, or what the actor has been able to do.’
T-Mobile and Lumen said attacks were detected, but found none Evidence of customer data was accessed on its network.
Verizon said that ‘a few weeks ago, we realized that the most advanced player in the world acquired several networks of telecom companiesincluding Verizon’ adds that the event was focused on a small group of people in government and politics.
And AT&T’s words are ‘works closely with government, industry partners and cyber security experts identify and fix any problems with our network.’
Greene issued a warning to iPhone and Android users, and encourage them to be vigilant in the midst of phishing campaigns.
He said Politics that people should ‘use your encrypted messages where you have them,’ adding that ‘we really need to do that, looking at what that means in the long term, how we protect our networks.’
The campaign, known as Salt Typhoon, came to light earlier this year and officials say the groups are linked to China
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 told NBC News.
‘Even if the adversary can tamper with the data, if it is encrypted, this will be possible.’
China has denied allegations by US officials that it is engaged in cybercrime targeting Americans.
On Tuesday, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington called the US claims ‘false.’
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.’
