Daily Caller
Chinese Agents Can Now Access Every American’s Phone Calls And Texts, GOP Senator Warns
Republican South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds warned Friday that China’s state-sponsored hackers, known as Salt Typhoon, have gained the capability to spy on millions of Americans through their mobile phones. (Screenshot/YouTube/HalifaxtheForum)
From the Daily Caller News Foundation
Republican South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds warned Friday that China’s state-sponsored hackers, known as Salt Typhoon, have gained the capability to spy on millions of Americans through their mobile phones.
During an event at Halifax The Forum, Rounds revealed that hackers have infiltrated all major U.S. telecommunications firms. Rounds said these hackers have penetrated every major telecom provider in the country. He also said the Chinese Communist government is capable of reading texts and listening to conversations.
“Any one of us and every one of us today is subject to the review by the Chinese Communist government of any cell phone conversation you have with anyone in America. Because they have access to every single one of our major telecommunications companies. They have broken in. They can read your texts, and they can hear your conversations,” Rounds said. “It’s just a matter of who they want to listen to and who they don’t.”
Salt Typhoon, identified as a Chinese hacking group, has infiltrated the networks of AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile, and their presence lingers, according to Democratic Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, The Washington Post reported. Warner called the breach “the worst telecom hack in our nation’s history—by far.”
The breach, ongoing for over a year, affects telecom giants such as AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. Hackers even accessed law enforcement wiretap request logs, revealing investigative targets, though the wiretap system itself remains uncompromised, WaPo said. The breach reportedly targeted communications involving former President Donald Trump, Vice President-elect JD Vance, and White House officials.
Despite intervention from the FBI, the hackers remain embedded in the U.S. telecom infrastructure, according to WaPo. Warner explained that expelling them will require a massive overhaul, including the physical replacement of thousands of routers and switches across affected networks.
“This is an ongoing effort by China to infiltrate telecom systems around the world, to exfiltrate huge amounts of data,” Warner said.
The group exploited outdated infrastructure and inter-network trust, enabling real-time eavesdropping and data exfiltration, the outlet reported. While fewer than 150 individuals were directly targeted, the scope of compromised data extends to millions of associated contacts.
The Biden administration urges stricter cybersecurity measures to counter persistent Chinese aggression.
“We must lock our digital doors,” Deputy National Security Adviser Anne Neuberger said.
National security officials, including Trump appointees, vow heightened focus on combating cyber threats.
Business
Canadian Businessman Kevin O’Leary Proposes ‘Erasing The Border’ Between US, Canada To Combat China
From the Daily Caller News Foundation
By Jason Cohen
Canadian businessman Kevin O’Leary proposed on Thursday that the United States and Canada eliminate the border between them to form a united front against China and Russia.
Trump suggested in a Christmas Day Truth Social post that Canada should become the United States’ 51st state, which the president-elect asserted would boost the northern country’s economy and provide it with military security. O’Leary, on “The Big Money Show,” said the potential economic and security benefits of the countries uniting are attractive prospects.
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“There’s 41 million Canadians, basically the population of California, sitting on the world’s largest amounts of all resources, including the most important, energy and water. Canadians over the holidays the last two days have been talking about this. They want to hear more,” O’Leary said. “And so there’s obviously a lot of issues and more details, but what this could be is the beginning of an economic union. Think about the power of combining the two economies, erasing the border between Canada and the United States and putting all that resource up to the northern borders where China and Russia are knocking on the door.”
“So secure that, give a common currency, figure out taxes across the board, get everything trading both ways, create a new, almost EU-like passport. I like this idea and at least half of Canadians are interested. The problem is the government’s collapsing in Canada right now,” he continued. “Nobody wants [Canadian Prime Minister Justin] Trudeau to negotiate this deal. I don’t want him doing it for me. So I’m going to go to Mar-a-Lago. I’ll start the narrative. The 41 millions Canadians, I think most of them would trust me on this deal.”
Trump in November threatened to place a 25% tariff on all products from Canada and Mexico unless they do more to curb the flow of illegal immigration and drugs entering the United States, with the Canadian government subsequently boosting its border security apparatus. Trudeau also met with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence following the president-elect’s threat.
From the Daily Caller News Foundation
By Nicole Silverio
Authorities revealed new disturbing details Thursday about the illegal migrant accused of burning a woman alive on a New York City subway.
Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, a 33-year-old foreign national from Guatemala, is facing first and second degree murder and arson charges over the death of a woman set ablaze on the F train in Brooklyn on Sunday. A new criminal complaint alleges that Zapeta-Calil set the woman’s clothes on fire with a lighter and intentionally fanned the flames by waving a shirt around her, according to CBS News.
The victim has yet to be identified, though a medical examiner’s office concluded that she died from smoke inhalation and from severe burns, CBS News reported. Authorities said the suspect did not know or have any interactions with the unidentified woman, who is referred to as Jane Doe, before the incident.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson Jeff Carter confirmed to the Daily Caller News Foundation Tuesday that the suspect is an illegal migrant who had previously been deported from the U.S. Carter said that border officials encountered Zapeta-Calil in Sonoita, Arizona, on June 1, 2018, and removed him from the U.S. back to Guatemala on June 7, 2018.
Police officers who were on patrol on the upper level began to investigate after they sensed smoke, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said during a Sunday press conference. As they approached the scene, officers found the woman in the train car completely engulfed in flames, and immediately rushed to put the fire out as soon as they could.
Bodycam footage found that Zapeta-Calil stayed at the scene and watched the events unfold as he kept a lighter in his pocket. Witnesses later identified the suspect to authorities, leading to his arrest.
During the press conference, the police commissioner referred to the incident as “one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit.”
Zepeta-Calil appeared in court for his arraignment Tuesday and is due back in court Friday, according to CBS News.
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