Chinese hackers hacked into the US broadband providers ‘ networks and obtained data from systems that the federal government uses to wiretap for court-approved wiretapping, according to the Wall Street Journal on Saturday ( October 5 ).
Verizon Communications, AT&, T and Lumen Technologies are among the telco firms whose sites were breached by the recently discovered encroachment, the paper said, citing people familiar with the matter.
According to the Journal, the thieves may have had access to the network infrastructure used by the businesses to respond to court-approved US calls for contacts data for months. According to the report, the thieves had likewise accessed other types of internet traffic.
China’s overseas department responded on Sunday, saying the country had” concocted a false tale” to “frame” China in the past and that it had not been aware of the attack described in the report.
This error may only serve to thwart the efforts of the global community to simultaneously address the issue through speech and assistance, the government said in a statement to Reuters.
Beijing has recently refuted claims made by the US authorities and others that it has hacked into foreign computer systems.
Verizon, AT&, T and Lumen Technologies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
According to The Journal, the attack was carried out by a Chinese hackers organization with the intention of gathering knowledge. US authorities have dubbed it” Salt Typhoon”.
US law enforcement intervened earlier this year to disrupt a significant Chinese hacking organization known as” Flax Typhoon,” months after confronting Beijing about extensive cyber espionage under the name” Volt Typhoon.”
In its speech, China’s foreign ministry said Beijing’s security firms had found and published evidence to show Volt Typhoon was staged by” an international malware company”.