Chinese hackers have compromised personal metadata of numerous Americans in a sweeping cyber-espionage operation targeting telecommunications companies across the United States and globally, according to senior U.S. officials.
During a closed-door Senate briefing Wednesday, Deputy National Security Adviser Anne Neuberger revealed that a Chinese hacking group known as Salt Typhoon successfully infiltrated at least eight U.S. telecom providers. While the hackers accessed communications of senior government officials and political figures, Neuberger confirmed that classified communications remained secure.
The compromised metadata includes details such as call recipients, duration, and location information - data that can reveal detailed patterns about an individual's personal life, work activities, and relationships, even without access to actual call content.
This breach follows previous Chinese cyber incidents targeting prominent political figures. In October, federal authorities confirmed Chinese-linked hackers targeted then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, his running mate JD Vance, and associates of Vice President Kamala Harris.
Major telecom companies including Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Lumen were reportedly among those targeted. T-Mobile stated that customer information appears uncompromised, while Lumen reported no evidence of accessed customer data.
The Chinese embassy in Washington strongly denied involvement, with spokesperson Liu Pengyu calling on the U.S. to "stop its own cyberattacks against other countries and refrain from using cybersecurity to smear and slander China."
In response to the breach, U.S. federal authorities have issued new cybersecurity guidance for telecommunications companies, focusing on enhanced encryption and monitoring protocols. The Senate commerce subcommittee plans to examine the Salt Typhoon threat and broader communications network security concerns at a hearing scheduled for December 11.