iPhone & Android Users Have Been Told Not to Send SMS After the Attack

In the midst of a large and ongoing cyberattack on telecom companies, US officials have cautioned people not to send text messages.

Rather, smartphone users are advised to use encrypted messaging applications such as Signal or WhatsApp to communicate securely across Android and iOS devices.

The cyber campaign, known as Salt Typhoon, is the work of Chinese hackers, according to the FBI and the US cyber defence agency CISA.

"Threat actors affiliated with the People's Republic of China (PRC) are targeting commercial telecommunications providers to compromise sensitive data and engage in cyber espionage," stated Bryan Vorndran, assistant director of the FBI's Cyber Division.

iPhone & Android users have been told not to send SMS

"Our suggestion, what we have told folks internally, is not new here: Encryption is your friend, whether it's on text messaging or if you can use encrypted voice communication," Jeff Greene, executive assistant director for cyber security at CISA, told reporters on Tuesday.

"Even if the adversary is able to intercept the data, if it is encrypted, it will make it impossible."

According to US authorities, the hackers have already taken substantial amounts of data and phone intercepts. Mr Greene believes it is "impossible to predict" when the hackers will be evicted from the phone networks.

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