T-Mobile‘s network was among the several systems hacked in the Chinese hacking operation that gained entry into multiple US and international telecommunications companies, a report has said. The telecom giant now joins other known victims, including AT&T and Verizon, of the major Chinese spying operation.
Citing people familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal (via news agency Reuters) reported that a stealthy hacking group known as Salt Typhoon with alleged links to Chinese intelligence were able to breach T-Mobile as part of a months-long campaign to spy on the phone communications of high-value intelligence targets.
“T-Mobile is closely monitoring this industry-wide attack. At this time, T-Mobile systems and data have not been impacted in any significant way, and we have no evidence of impacts to customer information,” a company spokesperson told the news agency.
The report said that there is no clarity on what information, if any, has been taken about T-Mobile customers’ calls and communications records.

What the FBI has to say

Last week, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the US cyber watchdog agency CISA said China-linked hackers have intercepted surveillance data intended for American law enforcement agencies after breaking into an unspecified number of telecom companies.
Earlier in October, the Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese hackers accessed the networks of US broadband providers, including Verizon Communications, AT&T and Lumen Technologies. It added that the hackers obtained information from systems the federal government uses for court-authorised wiretapping.
The report also said that the hackers appear to have collected vast internet traffic from internet service providers. Additionally, there are indications that the hacking campaign targeted a small number of service providers outside of the US.