HACKERS GLOBAL HARVEST : DIGITAL BATTLE ESSAY

'' THE SALT TYPHOON ATTACK '' targeted and hacked more than 80 countries. The statement from Western allies only now gave the fullest accounting yet of what the F.B.I. has called China's '' cyberespionage campaign.''

The operation was '' more than a one-off intelligence success for China,'' Anne Neuberger, a Biden administration cybersecurity official, wrote recently in Foreign Affairs magazine.

'' It reflected a deeper, troubling reality,'' she wrote, adding '' China is positioning itself to dominate the digital battle space.''

Investigators linked the Salt Typhoon attack to at least three China-based technology companies that have been operating since at least 2019, but the operation was only uncovered last year.

The hackers' goal was to give Chinese officials the '' capability to identify and track their targets' communications and movements around the world,'' the statement said.

Among the targets were phones used by politicians, including President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance, during their campaign last year. The effort also took aim at Democrats.

The attackers stole data from telecommunications and internet service companies, penetrating more than a half dozen U.S. telecommunications companies alone.

The hackers exploited old vulnerabilities in the networks, the British authorities said. They also hacked into lodging and transportation companies, among the targets.

The hackers were able to listen in on telephone calls and unencrypted text messages. Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, has said.

The attack built on China's earlier hacks, said James MacColl, a senior research fellow on cybersecurity at Royal United Services Institute, an analytical group affiliated with the British military.

For years, China has collected large data sets, Mr. MacColl said, intending to one day exploit that information.

'' If you're a cyber power, then it makes sense you would want to compromise the global communications network,'' he said.

Chinese operators previously targeted American companies such as Marriott International, health insurers and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, which keeps government security clearance files.

In 2021, the Biden administration accused the Chinese government of breaching widely used Microsoft email systems.

Russian state-sponsored hackers have also carried out breaches.

The U.S. and British governments and their closest allies also have vast spying capabilities.

It is not clear how Western countries responded to Salt Typhoon.

The World Students Society thanks Adam Goldman.