Image by DC Studio, from Freepik
FBI Declares Salt Typhoon Hack A National Defense Crisis
- Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
- Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager
The Salt Typhoon hacking operation has become a “national defense crisis,” according to the FBI and its intelligence partners, who classify it as one of the biggest espionage operations in history.
In a rush? Here are the quick facts:
- Hackers infiltrated telecom networks in at least 80 countries.
- Millions of Americans’ data stolen, including presidential officials.
- U.S. and 12 allies issued urgent joint cybersecurity advisory.
According to officials, Chinese state-backed hackers have conducted attacks on telecommunications networks across 80 nations, resulting in data theft, communication surveillance, and attacks on military infrastructure.
“This is not just a cyber intrusion. This is the weaponization of our communications infrastructure,” a senior intelligence official said, as reported by Forbes .
Michael Machtinger, deputy assistant director for the FBI’s cyber division, added: “There’s a good chance this espionage campaign has stolen information from nearly every American,” reports The Register .
Investigators say that Salt Typhoon , active since at least 2019, infiltrated networks through unsecured vulnerabilities in Cisco, Palo Alto, and Ivanti equipment.
The hackers operated for multiple years by creating hidden accounts, enabling secret backdoors, and mirroring internet traffic. This allowed them to carry out their data theft operations. The Register says that victims included more than 200 American organizations, nine major telecom providers, and reportedly over 100 current and former U.S. presidential officials.
“This is one of the most consequential cyber espionage breaches that we’ve ever seen in the United States,” Machtinger warned The Register. He described Beijing’s use of proxy companies to support the spying as “really reckless and unbounded, in a way that is significantly outside of the norms of what we see in the espionage space.”
A joint advisory released on August 27 by the FBI, NSA, CISA, the Department of Defense, and 12 allied nations provided technical guidance to help defenders detect and remove intruders. The officials advised organizations to isolate management networks, enforce stronger authentication, and eliminate weak credentials.
For individuals, experts recommend enabling multi-factor authentication, adding PIN protections to mobile accounts, and monitoring for suspicious activity.
Authorities say the scale of the Salt Typhoon makes clear that cyber defense is now inseparable from national defense. As one European intelligence official put it, according to Forbes: “This was not just an attack on the United States. This was an attack on global trust in our communications systems.”
Image by Radission US, from Unsplash
AI Agents Outperform Human Recruiters in Job Interviews, Study Finds
- Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
- Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager
A recent research study reports that AI voice agents can perform job interviews as well, and sometimes better, than human interviewers.
In a rush? Here are the quick facts:
- AI voice agents led to 12% more job offers than human recruiters.
- Retention after 30 days increased 17% for AI-interviewed candidates.
- 78% of applicants given a choice preferred AI-led interviews.
Researchers from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and Erasmus University Rotterdam conducted a field experiment with 67,000 job applicants in the Philippines.
In their research paper they explain that applicants were randomly assigned to interviews led by human recruiters, AI voice agents, or given a choice between the two.
The results were surprising. AI-led interviews generated 12% additional job offers, 18% more job acceptances, and 17% better employee retention during the first month of work.
Applicants rated AI interviews and recruiter quality similarly to human-led calls. Almost four in five applicants who had a choice opted for AI.
“We have to move from the ‘possible’ discourse to the hard-data discourse, so we don’t lose our rationality,” said Booth researcher Brian Jabarian, as reported by Bloomberg .
The research reported that AI interview systems covered more relevant job-related questions, leading candidates to provide more articulated information. The researchers argued that this improved recruitment choices.
Additionally, the researchers point out that since AI doesn’t get tired it can cover all essential questions. However, the researchers note that about 5% of applicants refused to speak to the AI, and technical issues occurred in 7% of cases, while some candidates noted the AI felt less natural.
Experts say the findings suggest AI can improve efficiency and job matching, particularly in high-volume roles like call centers.
The cost savings from automation depend on the size of the company, the wages of human recruiters, and the nature of the job. The research supports complete evaluation of AI systems before their implementation rather than rushing to implement them.
Bloomberg reports Jabarian noting, “Instead of listening to the visionaries, sprinkling chatbots everywhere and hoping for magic, deploying AI may soon mean putting decisions firmly in the hands of the bean-counters and scientists.”
