FBI Investigates Breach That May Have Hit Its Wiretapping Tools (theregister.com)
(Tuesday March 10, 2026 @06:00AM (BeauHD)
from the surveillance-system-surveilled dept.)
- Reference: 0180941880
- News link: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/03/09/236207/fbi-investigates-breach-that-may-have-hit-its-wiretapping-tools
- Source link: https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/08/fbi_investigates_wiretap_system_breach/
The FBI is investigating a breach [1]affecting systems tied to wiretapping and surveillance warrant data , after abnormal logs revealed possible unauthorized access to law-enforcement-sensitive information. "The FBI identified and addressed suspicious activities on FBI networks, and we have leveraged all technical capabilities to respond," a spokesperson for the bureau said. "We have nothing additional to provide." The Register reports:
> [W]hile the FBI declined to provide any additional information, it's worth noting that China's Salt Typhoon [2]previously compromised wiretapping systems used by law enforcement. Salt Typhoon is the PRC-backed crew that famously hacked major US telecommunications firms and stole information belonging to nearly every American.
>
> According to the [3]Associated Press , the FBI notified Congress that it began investigating the breach on February 17 after spotting abnormal log information related to a system on its network. "The affected system is unclassified and contains law enforcement sensitive information, including returns from legal process, such as pen register and trap and trace surveillance returns, and personally identifiable information pertaining to subjects of FBI investigations," the notification said.
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/08/fbi_investigates_wiretap_system_breach/
[2] https://slashdot.org/story/24/10/05/2118247/us-wiretap-systems-targeted-in-china-linked-hack
[3] https://apnews.com/article/fbi-cyber-surveillance-584d23d387bdc0552a7129d6068ee69f
> [W]hile the FBI declined to provide any additional information, it's worth noting that China's Salt Typhoon [2]previously compromised wiretapping systems used by law enforcement. Salt Typhoon is the PRC-backed crew that famously hacked major US telecommunications firms and stole information belonging to nearly every American.
>
> According to the [3]Associated Press , the FBI notified Congress that it began investigating the breach on February 17 after spotting abnormal log information related to a system on its network. "The affected system is unclassified and contains law enforcement sensitive information, including returns from legal process, such as pen register and trap and trace surveillance returns, and personally identifiable information pertaining to subjects of FBI investigations," the notification said.
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2026/03/08/fbi_investigates_wiretap_system_breach/
[2] https://slashdot.org/story/24/10/05/2118247/us-wiretap-systems-targeted-in-china-linked-hack
[3] https://apnews.com/article/fbi-cyber-surveillance-584d23d387bdc0552a7129d6068ee69f
Backdoors to encrypted communications but only ... (Score:2)
Yeah sure, you can trust is with backdoors to encrypted communications but only for the good guys because they know how to take good care of such important mechanisms.