“Chinese state-owned carriers remained deeply embedded in the U.S. internet ecosystem long after federal regulators had already found them vulnerable to CCP exploitation, influence, and control,” according to a new report issued by the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
“U.S.-based subsidiaries of Chinese telecommunications companies are beholden to the CCP, and they are a threat to all of us,” says committee chairman John Moolenaar.
“They make American customers promise to censor information according to the CCP’s laws, and they poison the domestic cyber infrastructure we rely on. All of this leaves us vulnerable to a new wave of state-sponsored cyberattacks from our nation’s biggest adversary. The CCP does not allow U.S. telecom companies into China. We must cut these subsidiaries out of our domestic infrastructure to protect the American people.”
The new report emerges in part from a hearing conducted in March 2025 on how massive cyberattacks on U.S. telecoms have been facilitated by the infiltration of U.S. systems by China Telecom, China Mobile, and China Unicom.
Among the report’s findings:
China Telecom, China Mobile, and China Unicom’s U.S. subsidiaries are not truly independent from their PRC and Hong Kong parent companies.
The FCC’s actions limit what the companies can sell, but it cannot remove the companies’ equipment, presence, or network relationships [from U.S. telecom networks].
These companies remain embedded in U.S. infrastructure, creating security risks for American Internet users through their integration with Chinese parent networks and supporting systems.
The investigation also revealed anomalous internet routing activity that corresponds with the timing of notable CCP-sponsored hacks against the U.S.
In response to the fact that “these companies’ residual U.S. operations” may provide a glide path for future CCP-sponsored cyberattacks on us, the Committee wants Congress to beef up the FCC’s authority to “rip and replace” compromised infrastructure. The problem and the proposed solution are each elaborated at length in the heavily footnoted report.
The Committee makes a good point. Let’s stop helping our enemies destroy us.
Also see:
Select Committee on the CCP: “Stranger Pings: The Threat of CCP-Controlled Infrastructure in the U.S. Communications Backbone”
Breitbart: “Congress Warns China ‘Deeply Embedded in the U.S. Internet Ecosystem’ ”
“ ‘This operation proved that Beijing’s hackers no longer rely on malware alone,’ the report said of the massive Salt Typhoon attack. ‘Instead, they weaponize the fundamental architecture of carrier networks—routing, reachability, and trusted pathways—to maintain deep, persistent access and evade detection.’ ”
StoptheCCP.org: “How to Thwart China’s Cyberattacks”
