Chinese Hackers Target U.S. Broadband Providers

(Reuters) – Chinese hackers accessed the networks of U.S. broadband providers and obtained information from systems used by the federal government for court-authorized wiretapping, according to the Wall Street Journal report on Saturday.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ), AT&T (NYSE:T), and Lumen Technologies are among the telecom companies whose networks were breached by the recently discovered intrusion, the newspaper reported, citing individuals familiar with the matter.

The hackers may have had access for months to the network infrastructure that these companies use to comply with court-authorized U.S. requests for communication data. They also reportedly accessed additional internet traffic.

China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters. Historically, Beijing has denied claims by the U.S. and others that it employs hackers to infiltrate foreign computer systems.

Verizon, AT&T, and Lumen Technologies also did not immediately respond to comments requested.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the attack was executed by a Chinese hacking group aimed at collecting intelligence, referred to by U.S. investigators as “Salt Typhoon.”

Earlier this year, U.S. law enforcement disrupted a significant Chinese hacking group known as “Flax Typhoon,” following confrontations with Beijing regarding widespread cyber espionage under the campaign named “Volt Typhoon.”