CISO Blog
Season 2 Episode 4 of The Troublemaker CISO: Salt Typhoon – An Unrelenting Storm on Telecoms
In the relentless digital battleground of 2025, Salt Typhoon is churning up a storm that telecoms can’t ignore. This state-sponsored cyber squad is at it again, infiltrating networks and dodging detection with their infamous espionage tactics. Targeting telecom giants worldwide, they’re exploiting vulnerabilities faster than you can say “patch it!” How do we defend against this relentless assault? By building robust, multi-layered defenses and staying one step ahead. Ready to weather the storm, troubleshooters? Dive in to uncover the strategies that can fortify our digital fortress against Salt Typhoon’s unyielding deluge.
Ladies and gentlemen, buckle up, because Salt Typhoon is back at it, causing a ruckus in our digital playgrounds. This Chinese state-sponsored APT group is no stranger to controversy, and February 2025 has them splashed across headlines once more. Their playground? Telecommunications and critical infrastructure. Their game? Cyber espionage for world domination, or at least to gather intelligence and strategic advantage.
How It All Began
Salt Typhoon blustered onto the scene around 2020, quickly turning into a high-priority headache for cybersecurity pros everywhere. They cut their teeth by:
- Nabbing holes in public-facing servers like Microsoft Exchange to break in.
- Spying on hotels, governments, and law firms, trying to catch influential figures off guard.
- Crafting sneaky backdoors like SparrowDoor and Demodex to stick around on breached systems.
- Dodging detection with top-notch anti-forensic shenanigans.
Over the years, their style evolved, adding “living off the land” tactics and honing in on juicier targets.
Read the full Threat report on Salt Typhoon
The 2025 Storm Surge
Fast forward to the chaos of 2025, and Salt Typhoon is back under the spotlight:
- Busting into U.S. telecom bones through unpatched Cisco IOS XE devices. Ouch!
- Attacking over 1,000 Cisco network gadgets worldwide, hitting the U.S., South America, and India hard.
- Compromising telecom giants like a U.S. ISP, U.K. affiliate networks, a South African provider, an Italian ISP, and a major player in Thailand.
- Deploying GhostSpider malware to weave their web.
- Exploiting well-trodden vulnerabilities in Cisco gear—CVE-2023-20198 and CVE-2023-20273—to snag admin access.
- Probing universities for their sweet research in telecom, engineering, and tech.
Their focus? Espionage, persistence, and staying ahead of geopolitical showdowns by intercepting data flows whenever it suits them.
The Fallout
Salt Typhoon’s actions ripple far beyond just cybersecurity headaches:
- National security risks: Breaching surveillance systems jeopardizes law enforcement and national operations.
- Data privacy violations: Personal and sensitive info is laid bare, compromising organizations and individuals.
- Threats to critical infrastructure: Telecommunication disruptions can snowball, impacting countless sectors.
Batten Down the Hatches
What’s a savvy guardian of cyberspace to do? Here’s how to withstand the storm:
- Roll out robust security frameworks like zero-trust architectures and keep vigilant with continuous monitoring.
- Patch those vulnerabilities, stat! Quickly seal any discovered holes to keep your defenses tight.
- Boost network visibility and keep an eagle eye on unusual behavior.
- Fortify infrastructure with segmentation, access controls, and souped-up VPN gateways.
- Share the wisdom: Stay in the know about Salt Typhoon’s latest tricky tactics.
- Bolster those Cisco devices.
Taking a hands-on, multi-layered approach is the only way to stay ahead of Salt Typhoon and other nefarious state-sponsored groupies. Let’s keep the umbrella of preparedness over our heads in the fast-moving digital storm. Stay sharp, troubleshooters—the world depends on it!