Chinese telecom hackers compromised US govt officials, politicians, snooped on ‘thousands of Americans’

More unsettling details have emerged about a cyberattack linked to China that infiltrated major US telecom networks, and the impact may be way worse than anyone thought.

According to The Wall Street Journal, hackers were buried deep inside US telecom infrastructure for at least eight months, and the data of “potentially thousands of Americans” could have been swept up in the breach.

The FBI has been investigating the group, called “Salt Typhoon,” which apparently managed to access call logs and SMS messages. Their targets included US diplomats, government officials, and people tied to both presidential campaigns.

But the new report reveals that these hackers weren’t just focused on a handful of high-value targets. They had the keys to access phone data from almost anyone on networks like AT&T and Verizon, which is a pretty frightening thought.

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What’s even more troubling is that these hackers, likely working for a Chinese intelligence agency, had a way into the systems of some of the biggest telecom companies in the US They got there by exploiting the routers these firms use.

So while they were zeroing in on a few dozen national security and political figures, the scope of their access meant they could see way more.

Both AT&T and Verizon have stayed quiet, offering no comment on the unfolding situation. The fact that these hackers had such wide-reaching capabilities has raised serious concerns about the security of critical communication networks in the US If they could target people at this level, the ripple effects might be huge.

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As the investigation rolls on, it’s clear this isn’t just about a few hacked phones — it’s a wake-up call about the vulnerabilities in systems so central to daily communication and national security.