Reports indicate that Chinese government hackers accessed Verizon AT&T and Lumen (CenturyLink) networks, and may have also hacked something even more important. Wall Street Journal first reported on the massive breach, which allegedly included the United States wiretap system. “A cyberattack tied to the Chinese government penetrated the networks of a swath of US broadband providers, potentially accessing information from systems the federal government uses for court-authorized network wiretapping requests,” their report read. “For months or longer, the hackers might have held access to network infrastructure used to cooperate with lawful US requests for communications data, according to people familiar with the matter.” The attack is being attributed to the group Salt Typhoon, and “attackers also had access to other tranches of more generic Internet traffic.” Such a brazen infiltration of American cybersystems was described by the Washington Post as “an audacious espionage operation likely aimed in part at discovering the Chinese targets of American surveillance.” The outlet is also reporting that a government investigation into the matter “is in its early stage.” “Hackers apparently exfiltrated some data from Verizon networks by reconfiguring Cisco routers, said one current and one former US official familiar with the matter,” the Post wrote. “The fact that they were able to make changes in the routers without detection reflects the sophistication of the adversary but also raises questions about Verizon’s security posture, analysts said.” “There is some indication [the lawful intercept system] was targeted,” said a United States security official, according to the Post. It has not been proven that the hackers were able to access the wiretap system, however. “Whether the hackers got access to actual lists of federal surveillance targets or their communications—or what they might have taken—is not clear, officials said. It is also not clear whether the subjects of the

Most Taiwanese do not expect a Chinese invasion in the near future, even as the democratic island’s military is being increasingly menaced by Chinese forces.

Russia & Turkey Block Discord Over Content Violations In the last 24 hours the governments of Russia and Turkey have effectively banned the Discord social media platform. Both countries cited the failure of the US-based messaging app to clean up illegal content. Roskomnadzor, Russia’s censorship body, specifically said Discord is blocked for “violation of laws” and that the company had already been warned been times, which included a previous fine for failure to conform. Compliance is required to “prevent the use of the messenger for terrorist and extremist services, recruitment of citizens to commit them, for drug sales, and in connection with unlawful information posting,” an official statement said. Via Shutterstock Roskomnadzor had in the recent past ordered Discord to immediately remove about a thousand pieces of “illegal content.” It received several violations in September, leading to the new ban. But Western media is also alleging this is part of Russia’s ongoing crackdown on speech and freedom of expression: In addition to actually dangerous organizations, the Russian censorship laws target the opposition and non-governmental bodies critical of the Kremlin as “extremist” to limit their reach. Pro-Ukraine messaging and LGBT content are also banned under Russian laws. Russia’s announcement came Tuesday, but merely hours later, on Wednesday, Turkey unveiled its own ban. Turkey has said it moved against the platform to “protect” children and young people from online abuse. Turkey’s BTK communications authority referred to a court finding in Ankara which raised “suspicion” the app has been used for “the sexual abuse of children and obscenity”. “We are determined to protect our young people and our children… from harmful and criminal publications on social media and the internet,” Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said. Additionally, AFP writes that “Turkish media reports said some Discord users had posted messages hailing Friday’s double murder of two 19-year-old women