Ethical Hacking News
The Salt Typhoon threat highlights the need for continued vigilance in global cybersecurity efforts. This persistent actor has been linked to significant cyber-espionage campaigns targeting major telecommunications providers across multiple countries. The group's sophisticated methods of maintaining network persistence pose a significant threat to global cybersecurity, emphasizing the importance of patching vulnerabilities and adopting robust security practices.
Salt Typhoon has been engaged in a significant cyber-espionage campaign since at least 2019. The group has targeted over 600 organizations across 80 countries, including major telecommunications providers. Salt Typhoon uses compromised devices and trusted connections to pivot into other networks and modify routers for persistent access. The group is affiliated with three China-based entities accused of providing cyber products and services to China's Ministry of State Security and People's Liberation Army. The US has issued sanctions on one of the entities, Sichuan Juxinhe Network Technology, affiliated with Salt Typhoon. Common vulnerabilities exploited by Salt Typhoon include CVE-2024-21887, CVE-2023-46805, and CVE-2018-0171. Organizations must prioritize cybersecurity efforts, patching vulnerabilities and adopting robust security practices to mitigate the threat posed by Salt Typhoon.
The world of cybersecurity is often plagued by threats that seem like mere flash-in-the-pan incidents, only to reveal themselves as insidious and persistent actors on the global cyber stage. Among these actors, one name stands out for its seemingly never-ending campaign of malicious hacking and espionage: Salt Typhoon.
According to a joint security alert issued by the FBI, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), National Security Agency (NSA), Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center, and several other government agencies across 13 countries, Salt Typhoon has been actively engaged in a significant cyber-espionage campaign since at least 2019. This campaign, which has been ongoing for years, has seen the group breaching global telecommunications privacy and security norms.
The alert highlights that Salt Typhoon targeted more than 600 organizations across 80 countries, with a focus on large backbone routers of major telecommunications providers, as well as provider edge (PE) and customer edge (CE) routers. The group leverages compromised devices and trusted connections to pivot into other networks, often modifying routers to maintain persistent, long-term access to networks.
The international coalition also identified three China-based entities affiliated with Salt Typhoon – Sichuan Juxinhe Network Technology, Beijing Huanyu Tianqiong Information Technology, and Sichuan Zhixin Ruijie Network Technology – which it accused of providing cyber products and services to China's Ministry of State Security and People's Liberation Army. In January, the US issued sanctions on one of the three entities, Sichuan Juxinhe Network Technology, which was affiliated with Salt Typhoon.
The advisory lists CVEs that Salt Typhoon commonly exploits to gain initial access, including CVE-2024-21887 – Ivanti Connect Secure and Ivanti Policy Secure web-component command injection vulneraspithobility, commonly chained with an authentication bypass bug tracked as CVE-2023-46805. Other vulnerabilities mentioned in the advisory include CVE-2024-3400 – Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS GlobalProtect arbitrary file creation leading to OS command injection, CVE-2023-20273 – Cisco Internetworking Operating System (IOS) XE software web management user interface post-authentication command injection/privilege escalation, and CVE-2018-0171 – Cisco IOS and IOS XE smart install remote code execution vulnerability.
This information highlights the importance of patching these vulnerabilities if they have not already been addressed. The threat posed by Salt Typhoon emphasizes the need for organizations to prioritize their cybersecurity posture, including staying up-to-date with the latest security patches and adopting robust security practices.
Furthermore, the joint alert serves as a stark reminder that even the most seemingly secure systems can be vulnerable to attack. In this case, Salt Typhoon's sophisticated methods of maintaining network persistence, moving laterally across devices, capturing traffic containing credentials, and abusing peering connections to steal sensitive information pose a significant threat to global cybersecurity.
The warning from experts that any claims of successfully booting the snoops off of networks "should always be viewed with at least some skepticism" underscores the need for caution in addressing such incidents. Salt Typhoon is a persistent actor. Even if one method of access is thwarted, they are going to keep trying to get in.
The fact that the hacking activities extended far beyond American telecommunications and federal networks indicates the scale and reach of the threat posed by Salt Typhoon. The targeting of more than 600 organizations across 80 countries highlights the group's ability to operate across multiple jurisdictions, often exploiting vulnerabilities in widely used software and hardware.
The involvement of CrowdStrike researchers, who documented over a dozen cases of hacking activity attributed to this group since late spring, adds weight to the gravity of the situation. Their findings underscore the continued threat posed by Salt Typhoon and emphasize the need for robust cybersecurity measures across all sectors.
In conclusion, the enduring menace of Salt Typhoon serves as a stark reminder of the importance of prioritizing global cybersecurity efforts. The persistent nature of this threat requires an ongoing commitment to patching vulnerabilities, adopting robust security practices, and staying vigilant against emerging threats. As the saying goes, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," and in the world of cybersecurity, staying proactive is often the best defense.
Related Information:
https://www.ethicalhackingnews.com/articles/The-Enduring-Menace-of-Salt-Typhoon-A-Persistent-Threat-to-Global-Cybersecurity-ehn.shtml
https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2025/08/28/china_salt_typhoon_alert/
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-21887
https://www.cvedetails.com/cve/CVE-2024-21887/
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-46805
https://www.cvedetails.com/cve/CVE-2023-46805/
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-3400
https://www.cvedetails.com/cve/CVE-2024-3400/
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-0171
https://www.cvedetails.com/cve/CVE-2018-0171/
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-20273
https://www.cvedetails.com/cve/CVE-2023-20273/
Published: Thu Aug 28 12:20:37 2025 by llama3.2 3B Q4_K_M
