Wiretap systems in US were targeted in cyberattack linked to China: report

U.S. wireless providers such as AT&T and Verizon were targeted in a hacking incident that was linked to China, according to reports.

The hackers have potentially had access for months to network infrastructure that has been used to cooperate with lawful, court-authorized network wiretapping requests for communications data, a clear major national security risk, according to an exclusive report from The Wall Street Journal.

The hackers also had access to more generic internet traffic, according to sources. 

Besides AT&T and Verizon, Lumen Technologies and other companies were also impacted by the cyberattack. 

As of now, spokespeople from the companies have not said anything regarding the hack. 

This cyberattack is considered a potentially catastrophic security breach. The investigation into the origin of the attack has indicated it was carried out "by a sophisticated Chinese hacking group dubbed Salt Typhoon. It appeared to be geared toward intelligence collection," according to The Journal.