U.S. Government Briefing on China's Alleged Cyber Espionage

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. government agencies are scheduled for a classified briefing with the House of Representatives on Tuesday regarding China’s efforts, termed "Salt Typhoon", to infiltrate American telecommunications companies and steal data related to U.S. phone calls, officials reported on Monday.

The briefing at 2:15 p.m. ET will involve the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Federal Communications Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel, the National Security Council, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. This follows a similar closed-door briefing held last week for senators.

The White House previously stated that at least eight telecommunications and telecom infrastructure firms in the United States have been affected, with a significant amount of Americans' metadata compromised in a wide-reaching cyber espionage effort.

The White House has not yet provided further comments.

Democratic Senator Ron Wyden mentioned he is in the process of drafting legislation on this issue after last week’s briefing, while Senator Bob Casey expressed significant concerns about the breach and warned it could take until next year for Congress to address the situation.

In addition, a Senate Commerce subcommittee will conduct a hearing on Wednesday to evaluate Salt Typhoon and assess how security threats endanger communications networks while reviewing best practices. The hearing will feature Competitive Carriers Association CEO Tim Donovan.

Chinese officials have labeled the allegations as disinformation, claiming that Beijing "firmly opposes and combats cyber attacks and cyber theft in all forms."

Concerns are rising about the magnitude and implications of the reported Chinese hacking operations within U.S. telecommunications networks, raising questions about when companies and government officials can reassure Americans regarding the issue.

Senator Richard Blumenthal remarked, "The extent and depth and breadth of Chinese hacking is absolutely mind-boggling – that we would permit as much as has happened in just the last year is terrifying."

U.S. officials have previously alleged that hackers targeted major companies such as Verizon, AT&T, and Lumen, stealing telephone audio intercepts and a substantial amount of call record data.