According to a report by the Wall Street Journal on Saturday, Chinese hackers have infiltrated the networks of U.S. broadband providers, gaining access to information from systems used by the federal government for court-sanctioned wiretapping.
According to reports, Verizon Communications (VZ.N), AT&T (T.N.), and Lumen Technologies (LUMN.N) are among the telecommunications companies affected by a recent network breach. Sources familiar with the situation have confirmed the intrusion.
According to the Journal, hackers may have maintained access for several months to the network infrastructure utilized by companies to comply with court-sanctioned U.S. requests for communications data. The report indicated that the hackers had gained access to additional segments of internet traffic.
On Sunday, China‘s foreign ministry stated it was unaware of the attack mentioned in the report, asserting that the United States had previously “concocted a false narrative” to “frame” China.
“In a statement to Reuters, the ministry emphasized that at a time when cybersecurity poses a widespread challenge for nations globally, this misguided approach will impede the international community’s efforts to collaboratively tackle the issue through dialogue and cooperation.”
Beijing has consistently refuted allegations from the US government and other entities regarding its purported use of hackers to infiltrate foreign computer networks.
Requests for comment from Verizon, AT&T, and Lumen Technologies went unanswered as of this writing.
A recent report indicates that a Chinese hacking group executed the attack with the objective of gathering intelligence. U.S. investigators have named the operation “Salt Typhoon.”
In a significant development earlier this year, U.S. law enforcement agencies took action against a prominent Chinese hacking group known as “Flax Typhoon.” Only months had passed since U.S. officials confronted Beijing over extensive cyber espionage activities linked to the “Volt Typhoon” campaign.
According to a statement from China’s foreign ministry, its cybersecurity agencies have found and made public evidence that “an international ransomware organization” orchestrated Volt Typhoon.