US Officials Urged to Use Encrypted Apps after Major Cybersecurity Breach

This recommendation follows a cybersecurity breach where hackers reportedly exploited US wiretapping systems to intercept private communications.

Last month, Washington accused the hacker group ‘Salt Typhoon,’ allegedly linked to China, of orchestrating an unprecedented cyber-espionage operation against US telecommunications firms. Beijing has consistently denied these allegations, labeling them as baseless.

According to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency [CISA], the breach enabled the theft of customer call records and compromised private communications of a limited number of highly targeted individuals.

In a new security advisory released Wednesday, CISA recommended that senior government officials and political figures adopt end-to-end encrypted messaging services. While specific apps were not endorsed, popular platforms such as Telegram, Signal and WhatsApp offer enhanced privacy through message encryption.

The breach also impacted data stored under US surveillance protocols as part of court-ordered wiretapping, CISA acknowledged. These protocols are typically used for monitoring American suspects, but in this case, they became a vulnerability exploited by the attackers.

During a recent Senate hearing, lawmakers questioned cybersecurity experts on improving telecom security following what was described as “the largest telecommunications hack in US history.”

China has repeatedly dismissed US hacking claims, with its Foreign Ministry accusing Washington of using cybersecurity issues as a pretext for sanctions and propaganda. Spokesperson Mao Ning urged the US to cease its accusations and lift unilateral sanctions, calling the claims a means to unjustly vilify Beijing.