CISA Advisory: CISA and Partners Release Joint Guidance on PRC-Affiliated Threat Actor Compromising Networks of Global Telecommunications Providers

Today, CISA—in partnership with the National Security Agency (NSA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and international partners—released joint guidance, Enhanced Visibility and Hardening Guidance for Communications Infrastructure. Partners of this guidance include:

•  Australian Signals Directorate’s (ASD’s) Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC)
•  Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS)
• New Zealand’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-NZ)

This guidance was crafted in response to a People’s Republic of China (PRC)-affiliated threat actor’s compromise of “networks of major global telecommunications providers to conduct a broad and significant cyber espionage campaign.” The compromise of private communications impacted a limited number of individuals who are primarily involved in government or political activity.

CISA and partners encourage network defenders and engineers of communications infrastructure, and other critical infrastructure organizations with on-premises enterprise equipment, to review and apply the provided best practices, including patching vulnerable devices and services, to reduce opportunities for intrusion. For more information on PRC state-sponsored threat actor activity, see CISA’s People’s Republic of China Cyber Threat. For more information on secure by design principles, see CISA’s Secure by Design webpage. Customers should refer to CISA’s Secure by Demand guidance for additional product security considerations.