The White House says the 9th telecommunications company was hacked as part of a Chinese espionage campaign

The White House said on Friday that a ninth US telecommunications company had been hacked as part of a Chinese espionage campaign that gave state officials access to the private texts and phone conversations of Americans.

The Biden administration said earlier this month that at least eight telecommunications companies and dozens of nations were affected by the Chinese hacking scheme known as Salt Storm.

On Friday, deputy national security adviser Anne Neuberger told reporters that a ninth victim had been identified after the administration issued guidance to companies on how to find Chinese hackers on their networks.

Hackers have compromised telecommunications companies' networks to collect customer call records and access the private communications of a limited number of people, officials said.

CHINA WARNS US TO STOP ARMING TAIWAN AFTER BIDEN APPROVES $571M IN MEDICAL AID.

The FBI has not publicly identified any victims, but officials believe that senior US government officials and prominent political figures are among the victims whose communications were discovered.

Neuberger said officials still don't have an exact idea of ​​how many Americans were targeted by Hurricane Salt, in part because the hackers were being careful with their tactics, but he said the “large number” of victims were in Washington, DC. and Virginia.

TRUMP SAYS TIKTOK TIME SHOULD BE ON HIM WHEN HE RETURNS TO THE WHITE HOUSE

Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber ​​and Emerging Technology Anne Neuberger speaks at the daily press briefing at the White House on February 17, 2021, in Washington. (Getty Images)

Officials said they believe the criminals wanted to identify the devices and check their texts and phones if they were “things the government wanted,” Neuberger said.

Most of the victims were “extremely involved in government or politics,” the FBI said.

Neuberger said the hack shows the need for better cybersecurity practices in the telecommunications industry, which the Federal Communications Commission is expected to consider at a meeting next month.

American and Chinese flags are raised before a meeting between US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China, Saturday, July 8, 2023. (Mark Schifelbein/Pool via REUTERS)

CLICK HERE FOR THE NEWS PROGRAM

He also said, without giving details, that the government plans to take other measures in the coming weeks in response to the hacking campaign, although he did not say what they would be.

“We know that voluntary cybersecurity measures are not enough to protect against China, Russia and Iran hacking our critical infrastructure,” he said.

The Chinese government has denied responsibility for the hacking campaign.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.