U.S. officials are urging Americans to use encrypted messaging apps to protect their communications from hackers following a large-scale cyberattack by Salt Typhoon, a Chinese state-backed group, targeting U.S. telecommunications firms like AT&T, Verizon, and Lumen. The attackers eavesdropped on calls, collected metadata, and accessed systems processing law enforcement court orders. Encrypted apps with end-to-end encryption (E2EE) are recommended to secure messages even if networks are compromised. Officials also advise enabling multifactor authentication and using devices with automatic updates while providing carriers with cybersecurity improvement guidelines.

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