For decades, federal cybersecurity strategies were built on a foundational assumption: if a system was authenticated, operated inside trusted infrastructure, and communicated through approved channels, it could be trusted. The Salt Typhoon campaign exposed the fatal flaw in that assumption, particularly for federal email security.
Salt Typhoon was not a smash-and-grab intrusion. It was a prolonged, methodical operation conducted by a state-sponsored adversary that embedded itself inside trusted telecommunications infrastructure and legitimate government communication systems. The attackers maintained access for more than a year, leveraged lawful intercept capabilities, and accessed sensitive communications without triggering traditional security alarms. During the same period, compromised government and law enforcement email accounts began appearing for sale in criminal marketplaces. These accounts were authentic, actively used, and fully trusted.
This convergence marked a turning point. Trust was no longer something attackers needed to defeat. It was something they could inherit.
Federal agencies rely on email more than any other communication channel. Email drives procurement, interagency coordination, intelligence sharing, and executive decision-making. It connects agencies with contractors, telecommunications providers, state and local governments, and international partners. This reliance on trusted relationships is operationally necessary, but it also creates an attack surface that legacy email security was never designed to defend.
Traditional email security tools focus on technical indicators. They inspect attachments, scan links, and validate sender authentication. These controls still stop commodity threats, but they fail when attackers operate from legitimate accounts. A compromised vendor sending an invoice update or a hijacked government account requesting sensitive information will pass authentication and appear normal to both users and security tools.
This is why Salt Typhoon represents more than a telecommunications breach. It represents the collapse of inherited trust across federal communications. When attackers control valid credentials and trusted infrastructure, the distinction between internal and external threats disappears. Email becomes an identity and workflow attack surface rather than simply a delivery mechanism for malware.
Abnormal AI addresses this problem by changing the question email security asks. Instead of asking whether a message is technically valid, it asks whether the sender’s behavior aligns with established norms. Abnormal establishes behavioral baselines for every user and external sender. It understands who communicates with whom, how often, about which topics, and through which workflows. When behavior deviates — even subtly — Abnormal identifies the risk.
This shift from identity validation to behavioral verification is foundational. It reflects the reality that authentication alone cannot determine trust. Intent and context matter just as much as credentials.
Salt Typhoon made this reality impossible to ignore. Federal agencies can no longer assume that trusted infrastructure guarantees trusted communication. Recognizing the collapse of inherited trust is the first step. Understanding how to address it is the next.
That is the focus of Part 2.
Confront the Collapse of Inherited Trust
Learn how we integrate Abnormal AI into zero trust architectures that assume compromise and continuously verify behavior.
