Chinese hackers accessed the networks of US broadband providers and obtained information from systems that the federal government uses for court-authorized wiretapping, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Saturday.
The networks of Verizon Communications, AT&T and Lumen Technologies, along with other telecoms, were breached by the recently discovered intrusion, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the matter.
The hackers might have held access for months to network infrastructure used by the companies to cooperate with court-authorized US requests for communications data, the report said.
Photo: AP
The hackers had also accessed other tranches of Internet traffic, it said.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Beijing has in the past denied claims by the US government and others that it has used hackers to break into foreign computer systems.
Verizon Communications, AT&T and Lumen Technologies did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Wall Street Journal said the attack was carried out by a Chinese hacking group with the aim of collecting intelligence. US investigators have dubbed it “Salt Typhoon.”
Earlier this year, US law enforcement disrupted a major Chinese hacking group nicknamed “Flax Typhoon,” months after confronting Beijing about sweeping cyberespionage under a campaign named “Volt Typhoon.”
In May last year, Microsoft said that the Chinese-sponsored Volt Typhoon attacks targeted US infrastructure, including Guam, a US territory with a vital military outpost.
The tech firm said the attacks, which had been ongoing since 2021, were likely aimed at hampering the US in the event of a conflict in the region.
In January, Western security officials said the US Department of Justice and the FBI obtained legal authorization to remotely disable aspects of the Volt Typhoon, which experts said successfully compromised thousands of Internet-connected devices.
Additional reporting by AFP
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