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Canada Enters the Crosshairs of Chinese State-Sponsored Cyber Intrusion
A sweeping cyber-espionage campaign orchestrated by China-backed threat actor Salt Typhoon has officially reached Canadian soil. The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security has confirmed that one of the country’s major telecommunications companies was infiltrated in February 2025 through a known vulnerability in Cisco’s network infrastructure. This incident adds Canada to a rapidly growing list of nations grappling with a string of coordinated global cyber intrusions.
Salt Typhoon, a well-documented advanced persistent threat (APT) group linked to the Chinese government, exploited a Cisco IOS XE Web UI vulnerability — tracked as CVE-2023-20198 — to gain unauthorized access to three network devices operated by an unnamed Canadian telecom provider. The group retrieved configuration files and established a GRE (Generic Routing Encapsulation) tunnel, enabling it to collect network traffic. According to Canada’s cybersecurity agency, the move was part of a broader effort to surveil, manipulate, and potentially steal sensitive data from critical infrastructure.
This attack mirrors similar operations carried out across the globe. Salt Typhoon has primarily focused on telecommunications providers due to the wealth of sensitive information they handle, including user communications, metadata, and even law enforcement-related surveillance records. The United States has already seen breaches at telecom giants like AT\&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, as well as satellite firm Viasat and Lumen Technologies. Victims have also been identified in Italy, South Africa, and Thailand.
The Canadian government is warning that this may be just the beginning. Authorities anticipate continued and possibly escalated activity from Salt Typhoon, with the scope likely expanding beyond telecom into other high-value sectors. While the full extent of the breach in Canada remains undisclosed, the strategic value of the targeted data implies potential intelligence gains for Chinese cyber operatives.
Cybersecurity experts have labeled Salt Typhoon’s strategy both aggressive and sophisticated, emphasizing that the campaign marks a new high-water mark for state-sponsored cyberattacks. The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security urges organizations to reinforce perimeter defenses, especially at the network edge, and remain vigilant as more details about the threat actor emerge.
What Undercode Say:
The Salt Typhoon cyber campaign is not merely a case of opportunistic hacking — it represents a meticulously coordinated, government-sponsored initiative aimed at undermining global digital sovereignty. The use of Cisco’s CVE-2023-20198 vulnerability as an access vector highlights a glaring weakness in network edge devices — a vulnerability too often neglected in cybersecurity strategies focused primarily on endpoint or cloud security.
What makes Salt Typhoon particularly dangerous is its specialization in quiet persistence. Once inside, the group sets up traffic-diverting tunnels like GRE, allowing them to observe, exfiltrate, and manipulate data over prolonged periods without immediate detection. This kind of access isn’t about short-term disruption — it’s about long-term surveillance and strategic leverage.
Canada’s inclusion on Salt Typhoon’s target list is no surprise. As a member of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance and a key player in North American infrastructure, Canada represents a critical intelligence node. Accessing Canadian telecom networks gives attackers indirect visibility into government communications, corporate activities, and possibly diplomatic exchanges. It’s espionage by infrastructure proxy.
The risk
It’s also worth noting the geopolitical subtext. While public narratives from Beijing deny involvement in any malicious cyber activity, the strategic consistency of Salt Typhoon’s attacks tells a different story. The group’s targeting profile aligns suspiciously well with China’s broader state objectives: acquiring foreign technology, monitoring political adversaries, and securing dominance in key digital infrastructure domains.
Ultimately, the Salt Typhoon saga underscores one chilling reality: in the digital age, national borders are porous, and routers — not rifles — are frontline assets in the war for control and influence.
🔍 Fact Checker Results:
✅ Verified: Canada’s cybersecurity authority confirmed the attack took place in February 2025.
✅ Verified: CVE-2023-20198 is a known Cisco IOS XE Web UI vulnerability exploited globally.
✅ Verified: U.S. telecom companies and international firms were also breached in related incidents.
📊 Prediction:
Given the scale and persistence of Salt Typhoon’s activities, it is highly likely that additional sectors in Canada — particularly energy, healthcare, and education — will face similar espionage attempts in the next 12 to 24 months. The use of edge device vulnerabilities will continue as attackers exploit slower patch cycles in critical infrastructure. Expect to see increased bilateral cooperation between Canadian and U.S. cyber agencies, along with potential retaliatory sanctions or diplomatic measures aimed at China.
References:
Reported By: www.darkreading.com
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