China-linked hackers stole surveillance data from telecom companies, US says

Washington: China-linked hackers have intercepted surveillance data intended for American law enforcement agencies after breaking in to an unspecified number of telecom companies, US authorities said on Wednesday.

The hackers compromised the networks of "multiple telecommunications companies" and stole US customer call records and communications from "a limited number of individuals who are primarily involved in government or political activity," according to a joint statement released by the FBI and the US cyber watchdog agency CISA.

The two agencies said the hackers also copied "certain information that was subject to US law enforcement requests pursuant to court orders."

The statement gave few other details and neither the FBI nor the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency immediately responded to a request for comment.

The announcement confirms the broad outlines of previous media reports, especially those in the Wall Street Journal, that Chinese hackers were feared to have opened a back door into the interception systems used by law enforcement to surveil Americans' telecommunications.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Beijing routinely denies US hacking allegations.