Chinese hackers gained access to US internet providers’ networks and data from federal government systems used for court-authorized surveillance, the Wall Street Journal said over the weekend.
The hackers have compromised the networks of several broadband providers in the United States and may have obtained information from systems used by the U.S. federal government to conduct warranted wiretaps as well.
Newsng gathered that the intrusion seems to have given these Chinese hackers broad access to the networks that enable wiretapping in the United States with judicial authorization.
According to WSJ, the hackers may have been able to access critical network infrastructure used by internet providers for several months, which gave them the ability to comply with legitimate government requests for communication data.
The recently found hack compromised the networks of several telecom businesses, including Lumen Technologies, AT&T, and Verizon Communications, according to the publication, which cited persons familiar with the situation.
The cyberattack was carried out by the Chinese hacking organization known as “Salt Typhoon.” This group has been linked to previous cyber-espionage actions, and the latest intrusion poses a major threat to US national security.
Notably, as the backbone of internet and phone connections, US telecom companies store massive amounts of caller and user data.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC, refuted that Beijing-backed hackers had penetrated US telecom businesses, calling the information “a distortion of the fact.” According to CNN, embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu accused the US of “politicising cybersecurity issues to smear China”.
The issue has been taken up by the highest levels of the US government. Two sources confirmed that US officials informed the House and Senate intelligence committees about China’s cyber campaign. Cybersecurity experts from Microsoft and Mandiant, a Google-owned firm, have been assisting in the investigation.
We earlier reported that Elon Musk’s X platform is breaking EU content regulations and deceiving users with its blue checkmarks for verified accounts, according to a report from Brussels that could result in steep fines.
