Singapore says Chinabacked hackers targeted its four largest phone companies TechCrunch
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ppSingapores government has blamed a known Chinese cyberespionage group for targeting four of its top telecommunication companies as part of a monthslong attackppIn a statement Monday Singapore confirmed for the first time that the hackers known as UNC3886 targeted the countrys telecoms infrastructure including its largest companies Singtel StarHub M1 and Simba Telecom The government previously said that it was responding to an unspecified attack on its critical infrastructureppWhile the intruders were able to breach and access some systems they did not disrupt services or access personal information said K Shanmugam the countrys coordinating minister for national securityppGoogleowned cybersecurity unit Mandiant previously linked UNC3886 as an espionage group likely working on behalf of China The Chinese government is known to conduct regular cyberespionage operations as well as prepositioning for disruptive attacks ahead of an anticipated invasion of Taiwan which Beijing has routinely denied per ReutersppUNC3886 is known for exploiting zeroday vulnerabilities in routers firewalls and virtualized environments where cybersecurity tools that are designed to spot malware cannot typically reach The hacking group has targeted the defense technology and telecom industries across the US and the AsiaPacific regionppIn the case of the attack on Singapores top telcos Shanmugam said the hackers used advanced tools like rootkits to gain longterm persistence to their systemsppIn one instance they were able to gain limited access to critical systems but did not get far enough to have been able to disrupt services according to the governments statementppPer Reuters the telcos said in a joint statement that the companies regularly face distributed denialofservice and other malware attacks We adopt defenceindepth mechanisms to protect our networks and conduct prompt remediation when any issues are detected the statement readppThe attacks on Singapores telcos follow similar but distinctly different attacks on hundreds of telecoms companies around the world in recent years including in the United States Multiple governments have linked these attacks to a Chinabacked group dubbed Salt TyphoonppSingapore said the attack carried out by UNC3886 has not resulted in the same extent of damage as cyberattacks elsewhere referring to the Salt Typhoon hacks ppTopicspp
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ppZack Whittaker is the security editor at TechCrunch He also authors the weekly cybersecurity newsletter this week in security ppHe can be reached via encrypted message at zackwhittaker1337 on Signal You can also contact him by email or to verify outreach at zackwhittakertechcrunchcom ppTickets are live at the lowest rates of the year Save up to 680 on your pass nowMeet investors Discover your next portfolio company Hear from 250 tech leaders dive into 200 sessions and explore 300 startups building whats next Dont miss these onetime savingspp Spotify says its best developers havent written a line of code since December thanks to AI
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pp Discord to roll out age verification next month
pp From Svedka to Anthropic brands make bold plays with AI in Super Bowl ads
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ppSingapores government has blamed a known Chinese cyberespionage group for targeting four of its top telecommunication companies as part of a monthslong attackppIn a statement Monday Singapore confirmed for the first time that the hackers known as UNC3886 targeted the countrys telecoms infrastructure including its largest companies Singtel StarHub M1 and Simba Telecom The government previously said that it was responding to an unspecified attack on its critical infrastructureppWhile the intruders were able to breach and access some systems they did not disrupt services or access personal information said K Shanmugam the countrys coordinating minister for national securityppGoogleowned cybersecurity unit Mandiant previously linked UNC3886 as an espionage group likely working on behalf of China The Chinese government is known to conduct regular cyberespionage operations as well as prepositioning for disruptive attacks ahead of an anticipated invasion of Taiwan which Beijing has routinely denied per ReutersppUNC3886 is known for exploiting zeroday vulnerabilities in routers firewalls and virtualized environments where cybersecurity tools that are designed to spot malware cannot typically reach The hacking group has targeted the defense technology and telecom industries across the US and the AsiaPacific regionppIn the case of the attack on Singapores top telcos Shanmugam said the hackers used advanced tools like rootkits to gain longterm persistence to their systemsppIn one instance they were able to gain limited access to critical systems but did not get far enough to have been able to disrupt services according to the governments statementppPer Reuters the telcos said in a joint statement that the companies regularly face distributed denialofservice and other malware attacks We adopt defenceindepth mechanisms to protect our networks and conduct prompt remediation when any issues are detected the statement readppThe attacks on Singapores telcos follow similar but distinctly different attacks on hundreds of telecoms companies around the world in recent years including in the United States Multiple governments have linked these attacks to a Chinabacked group dubbed Salt TyphoonppSingapore said the attack carried out by UNC3886 has not resulted in the same extent of damage as cyberattacks elsewhere referring to the Salt Typhoon hacks ppTopicspp
Security Editor
ppZack Whittaker is the security editor at TechCrunch He also authors the weekly cybersecurity newsletter this week in security ppHe can be reached via encrypted message at zackwhittaker1337 on Signal You can also contact him by email or to verify outreach at zackwhittakertechcrunchcom ppTickets are live at the lowest rates of the year Save up to 680 on your pass nowMeet investors Discover your next portfolio company Hear from 250 tech leaders dive into 200 sessions and explore 300 startups building whats next Dont miss these onetime savingspp Spotify says its best developers havent written a line of code since December thanks to AI
pp With cofounders leaving and an IPO looming Elon Musk turns talk to the moon
pp The first signs of burnout are coming from the people who embrace AI the most
pp MrBeasts company buys Gen Zfocused fintech app Step
pp YouTube TV introduces cheaper bundles including a 65month sports package
pp Discord to roll out age verification next month
pp From Svedka to Anthropic brands make bold plays with AI in Super Bowl ads
pp 2025 TechCrunch Media LLCp
