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What is Salt Typhoon? Decoding a Nation-State Threat to Telecom Networks

At the tail end of 2024, the cybersecurity world was shaken by the revelation of Salt Typhoon, a sophisticated state-sponsored cyber threat attributed to Chinese actors. This is being called the largest hack on telecom firms in U.S. history This Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) group has infiltrated U.S. telecom networks, exploiting vulnerabilities and maintaining prolonged, undetected access. The attack not only exposed critical weaknesses in national infrastructure but also highlighted the evolving nature of cyber warfare. In this blog, we delve into what Salt Typhoon is, how it operates, updates on the status of the parties affected and the broader implications for cybersecurity and telecommunications industries going forward. 

Understanding Salt Typhoon

Salt Typhoon is a codename for a Chinese state-sponsored hacking group known for targeting telecom infrastructure and critical networks. Operating under various aliases such as GhostEmperor, FamousSparrow, or UNC2286, Salt Typhoon’s primary goal is cyber espionage. The group uses advanced techniques to penetrate telecom networks, monitor communications, and exfiltrate sensitive data. 

The attackers focus on persistence, often maintaining access to compromised systems for years. This long-term infiltration enables them to gather intelligence, track high-value targets, and potentially disrupt services. U.S. intelligence agencies have described the Salt Typhoon campaign as one of the most significant telecom hacks in history, underscoring the scale and sophistication of the operation. 

How Salt Typhoon Operates

Salt Typhoon employs a range of advanced tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) to infiltrate and exploit networks. 

Exploitation of Zero-Day Vulnerabilities

Salt Typhoon is adept at exploiting previously unknown vulnerabilities in software and hardware. Zero-day vulnerabilities are security flaws that vendors and developers are unaware of, leaving systems exposed without an immediate patch. By identifying and exploiting these vulnerabilities, Salt Typhoon bypasses traditional security measures such as firewalls and antivirus software. This allows the group to gain initial access to networks before the vulnerabilities are publicly disclosed or patched. 

For example, attackers might exploit weaknesses in widely used telecom equipment or operating systems to infiltrate a network’s core infrastructure. This entry point gives them a foothold to launch further attacks and expand their presence. 

Lateral Movement

Once inside a network, Salt Typhoon engages in lateral movement, traversing internal systems (East-West traffic) to escalate privileges and access additional resources. This phase involves: 

  • Credential Harvesting: Stealing usernames, passwords, or session tokens to gain higher-level access. 
  • Privilege Escalation: Using exploits to move from standard user accounts to administrator accounts. 
  • Pivoting: Leveraging compromised systems to attack other parts of the network. 

Lateral movement is often hard to detect because traditional security solutions focus on North-South traffic (inbound and outbound). Without comprehensive visibility into internal traffic, organizations may remain unaware of malicious activity occurring within their networks. 

Encrypted Communication Channels

Salt Typhoon uses encrypted communication channels to exfiltrate data, making it difficult for traditional monitoring tools to identify malicious activity. Encryption masks the content of communications, enabling attackers to: 

  • Evade Detection: Security tools that lack decryption capabilities cannot analyze encrypted traffic, allowing attackers to hide their operations. 
  • Secure Data Exfiltration: Sensitive information such as call records, metadata, or proprietary data is transmitted securely to external servers controlled by the attackers. 

This tactic underscores the need for encryption-aware monitoring solutions that can analyze metadata and detect anomalies even when the content of the data is inaccessible. 

Persistence Mechanisms

Salt Typhoon employs sophisticated techniques to maintain long-term access to compromised systems, even after detection attempts. These persistence mechanisms include: 

  • Backdoors: Custom-built tools that allow reentry into systems after initial breaches are resolved. 
  • Rootkits: Malware installed at the operating system or firmware level, enabling attackers to conceal their presence and activities. 
  • Scheduled Tasks and Services: Manipulating legitimate system processes to re-establish connections after system reboots or software updates. 

By embedding themselves deeply within target networks, Salt Typhoon ensures they can continue their operations without frequent re-entry efforts. This persistence makes it incredibly challenging to fully eradicate the group once they’ve established a foothold.

Who Was Affected by Salt Typhoon

Salt Typhoon were deliberate in selecting their targets. As many as nine major telecom organizations were infiltrated and the Salt Typhoon group has been connected to other campaigns across Asia and Europe as well. 

As of January 7th, Verizon and AT&T claim to have evicted the cyber-espionage group from their networks, but there is still a presence with some others in the industry. Removing this group has been described as difficult due to sophisticated practices and commitment to avoiding detection. (There are updates still rolling in as the days pass)

Lessons For The Cyber Security Industry

Salt Typhoon serves as just another wake-up call for the cybersecurity and telecommunications sectors to stay ahead of the curve. Some key lessons from this hack: 

  • The Importance of Network Visibility: Many organizations struggle with detecting lateral movements within their networks. Enhanced visibility into East-West traffic is crucial to identifying threats before they escalate. 
  • Advanced Threat Detection: Traditional security measures are insufficient against APTs like Salt Typhoon. Organizations need advanced threat detection tools, such as AI-driven anomaly detection and Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) like Suricata. 
  • Encryption-Aware Monitoring: While encryption is vital for privacy, it can also conceal malicious activity. Cybersecurity tools must provide encrypted traffic analysis to maximize network visibility. 
  • Regulatory Compliance: Governments are likely to impose stricter cybersecurity standards on critical infrastructure providers. Organizations must stay ahead by adopting strong security measures and complying with evolving regulations. 

How To Stifle Malicious Hacker Campaigns

Effectively combating sophisticated threats like Salt Typhoon requires innovative and proactive measures. The NetQuest Streaming Network Sensors product stands out as a critical tool for both mitigating potential threats and addressing ongoing attacks. 

Enhanced Network Visibility

NetQuest’s Streaming Network Sensors provide exceptional visibility into network traffic, including encrypted communications. This visibility is key to detecting lateral movements and data exfiltration attempts often used by advanced attackers like Salt Typhoon. These sensors: 

  • Monitor internal East-West traffic to identify malicious activities missed by perimeter defenses. 
  • Extract metadata from encrypted traffic, uncovering anomalies without compromising encryption. 
  • Scale effectively for large networks, making them ideal for critical infrastructure. 

Real-Time Threat Detection and Response

NetQuest sensors integrate seamlessly with cybersecurity tools, delivering real-time insights to: 

  • Detect zero-day exploits and other unknown vulnerabilities as they emerge. 
  • Correlate patterns with threat intelligence to identify Indicators of Compromise (IoC) Advanced Persistent Threats (APT). 
  • Support automated response systems, enabling swift containment and mitigation of attacks. 

Mitigating Active Threats

During an attack, NetQuest’s sensors empower security teams by identifying compromised systems to limit further spread. This allows security teams to trace the attack’s origin for effective containment and forensic analysis and block data exfiltration attempts, thus safeguarding sensitive information. 

By combining visibility, real-time detection, and response capabilities, NetQuest Streaming Network Sensors equip organizations with the tools needed to counter both present and future cyber threats effectively.

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