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Salt Typhoon cyberattack
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
T-Mobile cut a cable to expel Chinese hackers in 2024.
The move highlights escalating telecom cyber threats.
Background
Salt Typhoon is a Chinese government-backed hacking group that conducted a widespread cyberattack on U.S. telecom and internet companies, aiming to steal phone records and data on senior U.S. officials, including presidential candidates. The campaign compromised hundreds of companies, including AT&T, Verizon, and Viasat. T-Mobile detected unusual activity and physically cut a cable to stop the intrusion.
How it unfolded
- 2024Salt Typhoon campaign discovered, compromising major U.S. telecom companies.
- Nov 2024T-Mobile cybersecurity chief Jeff Simon and colleagues drove to a Bellevue, Washington data center and cut the cable to the compromised system.
- Aug 19, 2026TechCrunch and other outlets report on T-Mobile's cable-cutting action.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- T-Mobile's cybersecurity chief Jeff Simon described the action as a necessary measure to expel the hackers.
Still unverified
The name of the router's owner was not disclosed by T-Mobile.