The Chinese cyber-attack that could have stolen data from every American

The Chinese cyber-attack that could have stolen data from every American

From The Global Story by BBC World Service

April 17, 2026 · 27 min

About this episode

The episode discusses a sophisticated Chinese cyber-attack on US telecoms that may have compromised data of influential Americans.

In 2024, reports emerged of a highly sophisticated cyber espionage campaign against US telecoms companies, which some analysts believe went all the way up to the Chinese government. The group behind this campaign would later be codenamed Salt Typhoon, and it is believed to have quietly infiltrated critical US telecoms infrastructure in order to collect private information on influential Americans – including presidential candidates. In the process, it may have also swept up data from millions of ordinary Americans. The Chinese government has denied responsibility for Salt Typhoon. We speak to former Deputy National Security Adviser Anne Neuberger, who was working inside the White House when the attacks were first uncovered. We also speak to BBC cyber correspondent Joe Tidy about how this hack unfolded – and what it reveals about who may be winning the cyber war. Producer: Aron Keller Sound engineer: Travis Evans Executive producer: James Shield Senior news editor: China Collins (Photo: Analysts in the Security Operations Center at the Dell Secure Works office in South Carolina, US. Credit: Stephen Morton/Getty Images)

People in this episode

Guests: Anne Neuberger, Joe Tidy

Topics covered

  • cybersecurity
  • espionage
  • China
  • US telecoms
  • data theft
  • cyber warfare

Keywords

  • cyber-attack
  • China
  • US telecoms
  • data theft
  • Salt Typhoon
  • Anne Neuberger
  • Joe Tidy

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: BBC World Service, Dell Secure Works

Places: China, United States

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