Recommended Free Tools
Salt Typhoon is the public name for cyber-espionage activity attributed by U.S. officials to PRC-affiliated actors who gained access to multiple telecommunications companies. The FBI and CISA said the attackers took customer call-record data, accessed private communications involving a limited number of people—primarily people involved in government or political activity—and copied some information connected to U.S. law-enforcement requests made under court orders. The public record does not establish a complete list of affected companies, a final tally of victims, or a definitive date by which all access was removed.
What is Salt Typhoon?
Salt Typhoon is a name used for a cyber-espionage campaign linked by U.S. authorities to PRC-affiliated actors. The intrusion targeted telecommunications-provider infrastructure, rather than being described as a compromise of subscribers’ individual phones. That matters because provider networks can hold records about many customers and may carry information sought through lawful surveillance processes.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
TP-Link AX1800 WiFi 6 Router (Archer AX21 V5) | $59.98 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
|
TP-Link Dual-Band AX3000 Wi-Fi 6 Wireless Gigabit Internet Router for Home | $74.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
|
TP-Link BE6500 Dual-Band WiFi 7 Router (BE400) | $159.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
|
TP-Link Dual-Band BE3600 Wi-Fi 7 Router, Archer BE230 | $79.98 | Buy on Amazon |
The public descriptions do not establish every actor’s identity or the campaign’s full objectives. In an August 27, 2025 advisory, the NSA and partner agencies said the activity they addressed partially overlaps with industry reporting that uses names including Salt Typhoon.
What have U.S. officials confirmed?
| Date | What officials said |
|---|---|
| October 25, 2024 | The FBI and CISA said they were investigating unauthorized access to commercial telecommunications infrastructure by PRC-affiliated actors. They said affected companies had been notified and that the agencies were providing technical assistance and sharing information with potential victims. The investigation was ongoing. |
| November 13, 2024 | The FBI and CISA described a “broad and significant cyber espionage campaign” and identified the categories of information accessed, detailed below. |
| April 24, 2025 | The FBI reiterated the reported data categories and said investigators had found that the campaign used network access to target victims globally. The FBI was still seeking information about the people behind it. |
| August 27, 2025 | The NSA and partner agencies issued guidance on Chinese state-sponsored activity targeting telecommunications and other critical infrastructure worldwide. They said the activity partly overlapped with reporting that uses the Salt Typhoon name. |
What information did the attackers access?
- Customer call-record data: Officials confirmed theft of call-record data. That category is distinct from the contents of a call.
- Some private communications: Officials said communications involving a limited number of individuals were accessed. Those people were primarily involved in government or political activity.
- Some court-order-related information: The attackers copied select information that was subject to U.S. law-enforcement requests pursuant to court orders.
The official descriptions do not give precise counts for these categories. They should not be read as saying that every customer’s calls, texts, or other communications were captured.
#1 Best Overall
- DUAL-BAND WIFI 6 ROUTER: Wi-Fi 6(802.11ax) technology achieves faster speeds, greater capacity and reduced network congestion compared to the previous gen. All WiFi routers require a separate modem. Dual-Band WiFi routers do not support the 6 GHz band.
- AX1800: Enjoy smoother and more stable streaming, gaming, downloading with 1.8 Gbps total bandwidth (up to 1200 Mbps on 5 GHz and up to 574 Mbps on 2.4 GHz). Performance varies by conditions, distance to devices, and obstacles such as walls.
- CONNECT MORE DEVICES: Wi-Fi 6 technology communicates more data to more devices simultaneously using revolutionary OFDMA technology
- EXTENSIVE COVERAGE: Achieve the strong, reliable WiFi coverage with Archer AX1800 as it focuses signal strength to your devices far away using Beamforming technology, 4 high-gain antennas and an advanced front-end module (FEM) chipset
- OUR CYBERSECURITY COMMITMENT: TP-Link is a signatory of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) Secure-by-Design pledge. This device is designed, built, and maintained, with advanced security as a core requirement.
Were customers’ calls or texts read?
U.S. officials confirmed access to private communications involving a limited number of people, but did not say that the contents of every customer’s calls or texts were obtained. The Associated Press reported in December 2024 that officials distinguished call metadata involving a large number of customers from actual call audio or text content retrieved from a much smaller number of victims. AP also reported at that time that the total victim count and any remaining access were unknown. That report describes the state of knowledge then; it does not establish whether the situation remained unchanged afterward.
Which companies were affected, and how many people were victims?
The FBI and CISA have publicly described multiple affected telecommunications companies, but the official statements cited here do not provide a complete company roster or a final count of providers or individuals affected. A list of names reported by media or other organizations should not be mistaken for an official, complete list. The FBI’s April 2025 statement described an ongoing investigation but did not supply a final accounting.
Rank #2
- Next-Gen Gigabit Wi-Fi 6 Speeds: 2402 Mbps on 5 GHz and 574 Mbps on 2.4 GHz bands ensure smoother streaming and faster downloads; support VPN server and VPN client¹
- A More Responsive Experience: Enjoy smooth gaming, video streaming, and live feeds simultaneously. OFDMA makes your Wi-Fi stronger by allowing multiple clients to share one band at the same time, cutting latency and jitter.²
- Expanded Wi-Fi Coverage: 4 high-gain external antennas and Beamforming technology combine to extend strong, reliable, Wi-Fi throughout your home.
- Improved Battery Life: Target Wake Time helps your devices to communicate efficiently while consuming less power.
- Improved Cooling Design: No heat ups, no throttles. A larger heat sink and redefined case design cools the WiFi 6 system and enables your network to stay at top speeds in more versatile environments.
Is Salt Typhoon still inside telecom networks?
The public statements cited here do not establish a definitive full-eviction date or prove that access remains in any particular network. The FBI and CISA described investigation and support for affected companies; those announcements do not, by themselves, confirm that every affected network was fully cleaned. The available public record therefore does not support a categorical answer that the actors are either still present everywhere or have been removed everywhere.
What can customers do?
This was a provider-network intrusion, so a subscriber cannot remove an attacker from a carrier’s infrastructure by changing a phone setting or buying a consumer security product. If your provider contacts you about an incident, follow its account-specific instructions and use its official support channel for questions about your own service. The public findings do not identify a universal customer action that reverses the reported provider-side access.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
Rank #3
- 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞-𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐖𝐢-𝐅𝐢 𝟕 - Designed with the latest Wi-Fi 7 technology, featuring Multi-Link Operation (MLO), Multi-RUs, and 4K-QAM. Achieve optimized performance on latest WiFi 7 laptops and devices, like the iPhone 16 Pro, and Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.
- 𝟔-𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦, 𝐃𝐮𝐚𝐥-𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐢-𝐅𝐢 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝟔.𝟓 𝐆𝐛𝐩𝐬 𝐓𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐭𝐡 - Achieve full speeds of up to 5764 Mbps on the 5GHz band and 688 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band with 6 streams. Enjoy seamless 4K/8K streaming, AR/VR gaming, and incredibly fast downloads/uploads.
- 𝐖𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 - Get up to 2,400 sq. ft. max coverage for up to 90 devices at a time. 6x high performance antennas and Beamforming technology, ensures reliable connections for remote workers, gamers, students, and more.
- 𝐔𝐥𝐭𝐫𝐚-𝐅𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝟐.𝟓 𝐆𝐛𝐩𝐬 𝐖𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 - 1x 2.5 Gbps WAN/LAN port, 1x 2.5 Gbps LAN port and 3x 1 Gbps LAN ports offer high-speed data transmissions.³ Integrate with a multi-gig modem for gigplus internet.
- 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐲𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 - TP-Link is a signatory of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) Secure-by-Design pledge. This device is designed, built, and maintained, with advanced security as a core requirement.
What should telecom and infrastructure defenders do?
The August 27, 2025 multi-agency advisory is directed at organizations responsible for telecommunications and other critical infrastructure. It includes tactics, indicators, exploited vulnerabilities, threat-hunting guidance, and mitigations. Its central sequencing advice is to understand the actors’ access before taking visible response steps:
“When threat hunting, the authoring agencies advise that organizations gain a full understanding of the APT actors’ accesses before implementing visible incident response and mitigation actions to maximize the chance of achieving full eviction from compromised networks.”
Rank #4
SaleTP-Link Dual-Band BE3600 Wi-Fi 7 Router, Archer BE230
- 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞-𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐟 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐖𝐢-𝐅𝐢 𝟕: Powered by Wi-Fi 7 technology, enjoy faster speeds with Multi-Link Operation, increased reliability with Multi-RUs, and more data capacity with 4K-QAM, delivering enhanced performance for all your devices.
- 𝐁𝐄𝟑𝟔𝟎𝟎 𝐃𝐮𝐚𝐥-𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐢-𝐅𝐢 𝟕 𝐑𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫: Delivers up to 2882 Mbps (5 GHz), and 688 Mbps (2.4 GHz) speeds for 4K/8K streaming, AR/VR gaming & more. Dual-band routers do not support 6 GHz. Performance varies by conditions, distance, and obstacles like walls.
- 𝐔𝐧𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐌𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢-𝐆𝐢𝐠 𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝟐.𝟓 𝐆𝐛𝐩𝐬 𝐏𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝟑×𝟏𝐆𝐛𝐩𝐬 𝐋𝐀𝐍 𝐏𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬: Maximize Gigabitplus internet with one 2.5G WAN/LAN port, one 2.5 Gbps LAN port, plus three additional 1 Gbps LAN ports. Break the 1G barrier for seamless, high-speed connectivity from the internet to multiple LAN devices for enhanced performance.
- 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭-𝐆𝐞𝐧 𝟐.𝟎 𝐆𝐇𝐳 𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐝-𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐫: Experience power and precision with a state-of-the-art processor that effortlessly manages high throughput. Eliminate lag and enjoy fast connections with minimal latency, even during heavy data transmissions.
- 𝐂𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐫 - Covers up to 2,000 sq. ft. for up to 60 devices at a time. 4 internal antennas and beamforming technology focus Wi-Fi signals toward hard-to-reach areas. Seamlessly connect phones, TVs, and gaming consoles.
The FBI and CISA said in October 2024: “The investigation is ongoing, and we encourage any organization that believes it might be a victim to engage its local FBI field office or CISA.”
What changed in federal telecom cybersecurity rules?
The Salt Typhoon investigation also unfolded alongside a change in the FCC’s regulatory approach to carrier cybersecurity. In January 2025, the FCC issued a declaratory ruling interpreting section 105 of CALEA to require telecommunications carriers to secure networks against unauthorized interception or access to call-identifying information, and proposed related rules. In November 2025, the FCC rescinded that ruling and withdrew the accompanying proposal, describing a shift toward collaboration and targeted regulatory action.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
On July 29, 2026, the U.S. Government Accountability Office concluded that the FCC’s November 2025 rescission order is a rule under the Administrative Procedure Act and is subject to Congressional Review Act submission requirements. GAO stated: “Therefore, the Cybersecurity Ruling is subject to the CRA requirement that it be submitted to Congress and the Comptroller General before taking effect.” This is GAO’s conclusion about the order’s classification and submission requirements, not a court ruling; it does not establish that all carrier cybersecurity obligations disappeared.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
