The U.S. government has confirmed that hackers with links to China breached multiple U.S. telecommunication service providers to access the wiretap systems used by law enforcement to surveil Americans.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -China-linked hackers have intercepted surveillance data intended for American law enforcement agencies after breaking in to an unspecified number of telecom companies, U.S. authorities said on Wednesday.

Hackers had been lurking undetected, and the FBI confirms they've breached systems critical to national security.

China-affiliated actors "have compromised networks at multiple telecommunications companies" to enable the theft of U.S. customer call records and access to the private communications of some individuals involved in government or politics,

Feds don't name Salt Typhoon, but describe Beijing band's alleged deeds The US government has confirmed there was "a broad and significant cyber espionage campaign" conducted by China-linked snoops against "multiple" American telecommunications providers' networks.