Overview
- UK outlets cite The Telegraph’s claim that aides to Boris Johnson, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak were targeted from 2021 to 2024, with one source saying the breach reached “the heart of Downing Street”.
- U.S. officials say the Salt Typhoon operation remains active and in some cases enabled recording of calls “at will,” with the intrusions only uncovered by intelligence agencies in 2024.
- The extent of any UK compromise remains uncertain, as the government has not confirmed details and some security sources argue British networks were better protected by the 2021 Telecommunications Security Act.
- The reported activity forms part of a wider campaign against global telecom providers affecting several Five Eyes nations, enabling access to metadata, locations and potentially message content.
- The revelations arrive as Prime Minister Keir Starmer visits China and scrutiny grows over a planned Chinese embassy in London, while Beijing dismisses the allegations as baseless.