Sen. Marco Rubiowho serves on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Sunday that as time goes on, we will learn more about Chinese hacking of U.S. telecom companies, calling it a “very serious situation we are facing.”
In October, federal authorities started an investigation in a cyberattack linked to Chinese-backed hackers who targeted major U.S. telecommunications companies and systems used for key government intelligence-gathering capabilities, a U.S. official familiar with the matter confirmed to CBS News at the time. The hacking group known as “Salt Typhoon” has affected numerous companies, including Verizon, AT&T and Lumen Technologies.
According to the official, the Chinese hackers have compromised systems used by U.S. intelligence agencies to conduct wiretaps, and both government agencies and the affected private companies are trying to determine what information, if any, the malicious actors may have collected. It’s not yet clear whether China has gained access to the audio of U.S. phone calls, but Rubio agreed Sunday with Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner that the breach would be “one of the largest breaches ever.”
“Well, I’m not going to comment on what they have access to, but I agree with Mark Warner’s statement. It is a blatant, outrageous and dangerous breach of our telecommunications systems across multiple companies,” Rubio said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan. ‘I think we’ll learn more about it as time goes on. I think more will be collected.’
CBS News
Rubio noted that while this breach does not appear to have a direct impact on the integrity of the U.S. presidential election, it does raise broader national security concerns going forward.
“It is a very serious situation we are facing. And I think this one is quite threatening, maybe not directly for the election per se, but certainly for the national security of our country going forward,” Rubio said on “Face the Nation.” “It’s a vulnerability that no one could have imagined or anticipated, but here it is.”
While this particular breach is not currently believed to threaten the presidential election, this does not mean that foreign election interference efforts, including China’s, have been scarce.
In late October, Microsoft released a seven-page report on how Russia, Iran and China are trying to interfere in the 2024 US election, warning American voters about deepfake videos and other tactics being implemented to attack political candidates.
Rubio, who cannot be re-elected until 2028, was one of the targets of the China-linked influence efforts. Microsoft noted that they have observed Chinese influence operations against Rubio intermittently since the run-up to the 2022 midterm elections. Despite the report highlighting the security threat from foreign adversaries, Rubio said on Sunday he remains assured of the security of the US elections.
“Well, I have confidence in the security and integrity of the elections, and especially because we have strong systems in this country. It’s spread across 50 states,” Rubio said. “That doesn’t mean there won’t be problems.”
