Is somebody listening in to your phone call? Too late. It might have happened already. A major breach of U.S. telecom companies occurred earlier this month that has since been branded the “worst telecom hack in our nation’s history – by far” according to Mark Warner, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
Allegations link China to the attack with hackers intercepting sensitive surveillance data intended for sharing across American law enforcement agencies and some wider private users.
Reuters reports the breach was confirmed in a joint statement by the FBI and U.S. cyber watchdog agency, CISA, on November 13.
“This is an ongoing effort by China to infiltrate telecom systems around the world, to exfiltrate huge amounts of data,” Warner told the Washington Post.
In an interview with the New York Times, the Virginia Democrat said the breach was more serious than what the Biden administration has admitted, with hackers able to listen to phone calls and read text messages.
Beijing has denied any involvement. The Chinese embassy in Washington has not responded to any media requests for comment.
The hackers managed to infiltrate the networks of several telecom companies, allegedly stealing U.S. customer call records and private communications from a small number of individuals involved in government or political activity.
There were also reports Chinese hackers targeted telephones belonging to then-presidential and vice presidential candidates Donald Trump and JD Vance, along with other senior political figures, raising widespread concern over the security of U.S. telecommunications infrastructure, the Reuters report notes.
The U.S. justice department unsealed criminal charges in September against three members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps suspected of hacking the Trump campaign.
Justice department officials said hackers were trying to undermine Trump’s campaign and intended to sow discord, exploit divisions within American society and potentially influence the outcome of the 2024 election.
“This is far and away the most serious telecom hack in our history,” Warner said.
“This makes Colonial Pipeline and SolarWinds look like small potatoes,” he added, referring to Russia’s intrusions into U.S. security agencies and beyond.