By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. government agencies will hold a classified briefing for all senators on Wednesday on China’s alleged efforts known as Salt Typhoon to burrow deep into American telecommunications companies and steal data about U.S. calls, according to officials and a notice seen by Reuters.
The FBI, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, Federal Communications Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel, the National Security Council and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency are set to take part in the 3 p.m. ET (2000 GMT) closed-door briefing, the officials said.
Separately, a U.S. Senate Commerce subcommittee will hold a Dec. 11 hearing on Salt Typhoon and how “security threats pose risks to our communications networks, and review best practices.” The hearing will include Competitive Carriers Association CEO Tim Donovan.
The briefing comes amid growing concern about the size and scope of the reported Chinese hacking into U.S. telecommunications networks and questions about when companies and the government can assure Americans over the matter.
“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,” said Senator Richard Blumenthal.
Last month, the FBI and CISA said China-linked hackers intercepted surveillance data intended for American law enforcement agencies after breaking in to an unspecified number of telecom companies, adding they compromised the networks of “multiple telecommunications companies” and stole U.S. customer call records and communications from “a limited number of individuals who are primarily involved in government or political activity.”
U.S. Representative Jake Auchincloss said last month “Salt Typhoon is the worst telecom hack in American history, and demands both a proportionate response to the Chinese Communist Party and increased accountability for U.S. corporations to prevent these intrusions.”
Incoming FCC (BME:) Chair Brendan Carr said on Wednesday “the Salt Typhoon intrusion is a serious and unacceptable risk to our national security.” Carr said he will work “with national security agencies through the transition and next year in an effort to root out the threat and secure our networks.”
The White House declined to comment. U.S. officials have previously alleged the hackers targeted Verizon (NYSE:), AT&T (NYSE:), T-Mobile, Lumen and others and stole telephone audio intercepts along with a large tranche of call record data.
T-Mobile said it does not believe hackers got access to its customer information. Verizon and AT&T did not immediately comment Wednesday. Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg, AT&T CEO John Stankey and T-Mobile took part in a Nov. 22 White House meeting on the issue.
Chinese officials have previously described the allegations as disinformation and said Beijing “firmly opposes and combats cyber attacks and cyber theft in all forms.”
CISA told reporters on Tuesday that it could not offer a timetable for ridding America’s telecom networks of all hackers.
“It would be impossible for us to predict when we’ll have full eviction,” CISA official Jeff Greene said.
