US lawmakers demand answers from telecom giants on cyberattack

Amid rising concerns over cybersecurity, US lawmakers are pressing major telecom companies for details about a recent report claiming Chinese hackers breached their networks.
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A bipartisan group of US lawmakers is demanding answers from major telecom companies such as AT&T, Verizon, and Lumen Technologies after reports that Chinese hackers accessed sensitive US broadband networks. According to The Wall Street Journal, the breach involved systems the federal government uses for court-authorised wiretapping, sparking concerns about national security.

Led by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Democrat Frank Pallone, the lawmakers have requested a briefing and detailed answers from the companies by next Friday. They want to know what data was compromised and when the telecoms discovered the intrusion, pointing to broader cybersecurity risks embedded in US telecommunications networks.

While AT&T and Lumen declined to comment, and Verizon has not yet responded, China’s foreign ministry denied involvement, accusing the US of fabricating the allegations. The timeline of the hacking remains unclear, but reports suggest that the hackers may have had access to the networks for months, potentially compromising vast amounts of internet traffic and communication data.