Chinese group SilentAir abuses SS7 and Diameter to spy via Asian telcos
Original title: Risky Bulletin: Chinese APT uses SS7, Diameter attacks to spy on targets
ENEA says SilentAir has operated since early 2025, mostly against Taiwanese subscribers, intercepting calls and SMS.
Telco security firm ENEA says a newly identified Chinese espionage group, SilentAir, has hacked telecom operators across Asia and planted backdoors that issue malicious SS7 and Diameter commands. The commands collect device data, track subscriber location, and intercept calls and SMS, while the group targeted only a small set of people. Activity spans telcos in six countries, mostly Taiwan, with rare cases involving political figures and officials. ENEA links some networks to Liminal Panda but says cooperation is unconfirmed.
Unconfirmed: ENEA attributes the activity to SilentAir and says any cooperation with Liminal Panda is unconfirmed.
- ENEA says SilentAir has been active since early 2025.
- Telcos in six countries were affected, mostly in Taiwan.
- Backdoors send SS7 and Diameter commands for tracking and interception.
- Rare targets included political figures and government officials.
- Overlap with Liminal Panda on some networks is not confirmed as cooperation.
Impact: Subscriber location, device data, calls and SMS
- Threat actors
- SilentAirHiddenArtLiminal Panda
- Organizations
- ENEA
From the original article
13 min read at news.risky.biz
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By Catalin Cimpanu · news.risky.biz
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