Digital Event Horizon
Canadian telecom company compromised by suspected Chinese hackers using a maximum-severity vulnerability that had been patched 16 months earlier, highlighting the need for organizations to prioritize cybersecurity and ensure that their systems are properly secured. The incident is part of a broader espionage campaign targeting Canadian organizations, including telecommunications service providers and their clients.
Canadian telecommunications provider compromised by suspected Chinese hackers affiliated with Salt Typhoon. The exploitation of CVE-2023-20198, a patched vulnerability, highlights the importance of timely patching and vulnerability management. Salt Typhoon is believed to be sponsored by the Chinese government and has been linked to numerous high-profile breaches. The FBI confirms Salt Typhoon's involvement in the breach and warns of ongoing espionage campaigns targeting Canadian organizations. Officials warn that Chinese state hackers will continue to target Canadian organizations, emphasizing the need for robust cybersecurity measures.
In a shocking revelation, officials from Canada's Cyber Centre and the FBI have confirmed that suspected Chinese hackers, affiliated with the group known as Salt Typhoon, have compromised a Canadian telecommunications provider. This incident marks a major security lapse, as the exploited vulnerability had been patched 16 months earlier.
Salt Typhoon is a highly skilled hacking group that has been linked to numerous high-profile breaches in recent years. The group's activities are believed to be sponsored by the Chinese government, with the intention of gathering sensitive information and conducting espionage on behalf of their nation-state interests.
The compromised Canadian telecom company was targeted using a maximum-severity vulnerability, CVE-2023-20198, which had been patched by Cisco in October 2023. However, it appears that the Canadian telecom company failed to apply this patch in a timely manner, leaving its devices vulnerable to exploitation.
According to officials from Canada's Cyber Centre, the hackers exploited CVE-2023-20198 to retrieve running configuration files from the compromised network devices and modified at least one of these files to create a GRE tunnel allowing traffic collection from the network. This indicates that the hackers were able to gain control over the compromised network devices and potentially access sensitive information.
The FBI has issued a statement confirming that Salt Typhoon is responsible for the breach, and that they believe this incident is part of a broader espionage campaign targeting Canadian organizations, including telecommunications service providers and their clients.
In light of this incident, officials from Canada's Cyber Centre have warned that Chinese state hackers will likely continue to target Canadian organizations in the coming months. This highlights the ongoing threat posed by state-sponsored cyber actors and the importance of timely patching and vulnerability management for organizations around the world.
The exploitation of CVE-2023-20198 is particularly egregious, given its maximum severity rating and the fact that it had been patched 16 months earlier. The failure to apply this patch on time has left countless devices vulnerable to exploitation, highlighting the need for organizations to prioritize cybersecurity and ensure that their systems are properly secured.
In conclusion, the compromise of a Canadian telecommunications provider by suspected Chinese hackers is a concerning development that highlights the ongoing threat posed by state-sponsored cyber actors. The importance of timely patching, vulnerability management, and robust cybersecurity measures cannot be overstated in this era of increasing cyber threats.
Related Information:
https://www.digitaleventhorizon.com/articles/Cyber-espionage-on-Canadian-telecom-The-Exploitation-of-a-Maximum-Severity-Vulnerability-by-Chinese-Hackers-deh.shtml
https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/06/suspected-china-state-hackers-exploited-patched-flaw-to-breach-canadian-telecom/
Published: Mon Jun 23 17:45:45 2025 by llama3.2 3B Q4_K_M
