The whole world is aware of the enmity between America and China and perhaps also that China can go to any extent to maintain its enmity. Meanwhile, a White House official said on Wednesday that US officials believe that Chinese hackers have broken into the networks of at least eight US telecommunications providers as part of a hacking campaign to spy on top American political figures. This hacking has affected many countries of the world.
Deputy National Security Advisor Anne Neuberger told reporters that at present we do not think that anyone has completely removed Chinese hackers from these networks, so there is a constant risk of compromise in communications.
The FBI began investigating Chinese hacking activity in late summer or early summer this year. It was revealed that hackers stole a large number of phone records, which reveal where, when and with whom people were communicating, but the content of the calls or texts was not stolen.
Let us tell you that this comment of Neuberger came as the biggest public statement by the Biden administration so far, in which the US national security establishment has suffered a setback. He said that officials do not think that hackers have accessed any classified information.
This statement came at a time when senior US intelligence officials gave a confidential briefing to senators on Wednesday about the Chinese hacking campaign. CNN had earlier reported that alleged Chinese hackers targeted the phone communications of President-elect Donald Trump, Vice President-elect JD Vance and senior officials of the Biden administration. However, China has denied involvement in it.
US officials are still trying to help major telecom providers to remove Chinese government-backed hackers from their networks, but there is no fixed time for its completion. Major telecom providers such as Verizon and AT&T are at the forefront of this work, officials said. Along with this, the FBI official also said that the hackers also copied some information that was under the orders of US law enforcement agencies, but their main focus was not on the portals of telecom providers, which allow wiretapping under court orders.
