Chinese hacking campaign breaches data of over 1 million Americans in a major espionage operation

U.S. officials have uncovered a large-scale Chinese hacking and espionage campaign that compromised the personal data of over 1 million American mobile phone users, ABC News reported. The breach, described as the most extensive telecom hack in U.S. history, exploited weaknesses in the communications networks of major telecommunications companies, including Verizon, AT&T, and Lumen Technologies.

According to sources familiar with the investigation, the operation initially targeted mobile phone users in the national capital region before narrowing its focus to high-profile individuals. Among those affected were senior officials in the Biden administration, including a Cabinet secretary and a White House homeland security adviser. Other notable targets reportedly included former President-elect Donald Trump, Vice President-elect JD Vance, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s staff, and legal representatives in politically sensitive cases.

During a Tuesday briefing, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security officials confirmed that Chinese hackers had stolen a "large amount of data." They revealed that the hackers obtained metadata, including mobile phone users’ identities, their calls’ details, and geolocation information. Alarmingly, the hackers intercepted audio calls and text messages from a subset of high-profile targets.

"This is the worst telecom hack in United States history. The Chinese have been in our telecom networks since at least 2023," stated Senator Mark Warner, Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Warner expressed grave concerns about the scale of the breach, noting that hackers had infiltrated at least eight or nine telecommunications providers.

The campaign, which reportedly went undetected for over a year, leveraged vulnerabilities in U.S. computer routers used by telecom providers. These flaws allowed Chinese operatives to access the phone numbers of millions of customers and obtain sensitive Department of Justice warrant data. Investigators fear this information could help China identify individuals under federal surveillance.

Despite efforts to address the intrusion, officials admitted they could not confirm that the hackers had been entirely expelled from U.S. networks. "This is not over," one source emphasized, highlighting the ongoing nature of the threat.

Federal authorities have issued recommendations to industry leaders, urging them to implement security measures to detect and prevent similar breaches. Senator Warner suggested that minimum security standards, akin to those in the energy and financial sectors, should be mandated for the telecommunications industry to safeguard critical infrastructure.