Chinese cybercriminals compromise US internet networks and obtain private wiretapping information.

Chinese cyberpunks have breached the systems of major U.S. broadband providers such as Verizon Communications, AT&T, and Lumen Technologies. The attack has given them access to sensitive information from systems that the federal government uses to access court-approved wiretaps.

According to reports, the hackers may have kept access to these companies’ infrastructure for several months. This infrastructure is important to the firms because they provide communications data upon request in collaboration with the US government.

Following the reveal, the Wall Street Journal quoted China’s foreign ministry saying it was not aware of any such cyber attack. It is an accusation, the ministry said, of fabricating a “false narrative” to “frame” China – implying that similar accusations have been made in the past without basis. The Chinese government has repeatedly denied accusations made by the US and other nations that it hired hackers to break into foreign computer systems.

The group accused for the attack has been codenamed “Salt Typhoon”. It has been the subject of an investigation by US authorities, who have linked it to wider concerns about cyber threats emanating from China. This year, US law enforcement agencies disrupted another major Chinese hacking group, known as “Flax Typhoon.” The action came after the US confronted China about widespread cyber espionage, as part of a larger campaign dubbed “Volt Typhoon.”

It was with such developments that China’s foreign ministry claimed the country’s cybersecurity agencies had discovered and published evidence to imply that the Volt Typhoon campaign was a performance staged by a ransomware organization acting globally, casting doubt on the US narrative of Chinese state-sponsored cyber-attacks. The ongoing tensions in light of these cyber threats outline the complex and contentious relationship between both nations concerning cybersecurity and espionage.

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