Telecoms hack on US government officials is 'worst in nations history' and 'the barn door is still wide open' says senator

A breach of telecoms companies that the United States said was linked to China was the "worst telecom hack in our nation's history - by far," the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee told the Washington Post on Thursday.

The White House meeting was hosted by national security adviser Jake Sullivan and Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology.

The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee said hackers listened to phone calls and read texts by exploiting aging equipment and seams in the networks that connect systems.

The Chinese government espionage campaign that has deeply penetrated more than a dozen U.S. telecommunications companies is the “worst telecom hack in our nation’s history — by far,” a senior U.S. senator told The Washington Post in an interview this week.

Top telecom executives met with US national security officials Friday as concerns mount over a long-running Chinese cyber-espionage campaign that has targeted some of the most senior US political figures in the country.

Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia, spoke with the Washington Post and New York Times this week to warn the public that this is so much worse than we initially thought, dubbing it “the worst telecom hack in our nation’s history.