Top FBI cyber official: Salt Typhoon ‘largely contained’ in telecom networks

The Chinese hackers behind the massive telecommunications sector breach are “largely contained” and “dormant” in the networks, “locked into the location they’re in” and “not actively infiltrating information,” the top FBI cyber official told CyberScoop.

But Brett Leatherman, new leader of the FBI Cyber division, said in a recent interview that doesn’t mean the hackers, known as Salt Typhoon, no longer pose a threat.

While there’s been some debate about whether Salt Typhoon should be getting more attention than fellow Chinese hackers Volt Typhoon — whom federal officials have said are prepositioned in U.S. critical infrastructure, poised for destructive action in the event of a conflict with the United States — Leatherman said the groups aren’t as different as some think.

Read more at CyberScoop