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A bipartisan group of senators has urged a federal review board to immediately begin an investigation into a Chinese hacking group’s attacks against the United States, according to a recent letter sent to Robert Silvers, undersecretary for policy at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The Epoch Times contacted the DHS for comment but has not received a response by publication time.
The senators noted that the CSRB’s announcement “is a good first step.” The CSRB, established by the DHS in 2022, consists of federal officials and private-sector cybersecurity experts.
“We are deeply alarmed DHS has not publicly disclosed when this investigation will begin,” the senators wrote. “While details of the attack are still being revealed, the scope of this attack is historic in nature and the hacking technique used by Salt Typhoon holds countless senior U.S. officials and millions of U.S. citizens at risk.
“With all due speed and urgency, the CSRB should begin investigating how this happened immediately.”
The Chinese hackers also copied “certain information that was subject to U.S. law enforcement requests pursuant to court orders,” the two agencies stated, suggesting that the Chinese breach may have targeted programs covered by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
“We expect our understanding of these compromises to grow as the investigation continues,” the two agencies said in a joint statement.
The letter was co-signed by Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Shelly Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), John Hawley (R-Mo.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), and Ted Budd (R-N.C.).
The senators also listed seven questions that the CSRB should address in its investigation into Salt Typhoon, including when the DHS became aware of the group’s attacks on U.S. telecommunication systems.
“Based on the scope of the hack, what information was Salt Typhoon able to obtain regarding FISA processes, investigation, ongoing operations, or U.S. intelligence collection methods?” the letter reads.
The senators also inquired about how Salt Typhoon compares to other Chinese threat groups regarding the scale and sophistication of its attacks.
The senators requested that the DHS inform them by Dec. 3 about when the investigation will commence. They also asked for a briefing before Jan. 10 of next year.
“The public should be sufficiently informed regarding the PRC’s unashamed strategy to use cyberattacks as a means to degrade our national security,” they wrote.