U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell has raised concerns with the CEOs of AT&T and Verizon regarding vulnerabilities in their networks following the Chinese state-sponsored "Salt Typhoon" hack. Despite assurances from both companies that their networks are secure, security experts remain doubtful about the complete eradication of Salt Typhoon from U.S. telecommunications systems.
Senator Cantwell, who serves as the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, sent letters to AT&T Chairman and CEO John Stankey and Verizon Chairman and CEO Hans Vestberg. In these letters, she emphasized ongoing risks associated with Salt Typhoon, which deeply penetrated major U.S. telecom networks last year.
"Current and former government experts continue to indicate that Salt Typhoon may remain active in U.S. networks," wrote Sen. Cantwell. She highlighted the complexity of telecommunications networks and the potential for multiple pathways for reentry by Salt Typhoon due to hardware and software vulnerabilities.
The breach allowed access to sensitive data, including geolocation information and cell phone data of millions of Americans, such as Donald Trump and J.D. Vance during their candidacies. The FBI confirmed earlier this year that hackers also stole call data logs, private communications, and copied information on U.S. law enforcement wiretap systems.
Despite this breach, AT&T stated in December 2024 that there was "no activity by nation-state actors in our networks at this time." Similarly, Verizon claimed it had "contained the activities associated with this particular incident."
Senator Cantwell stressed the importance of transparency from both companies: "Given the national security, critical infrastructure, and privacy risks involved, AT&T and Verizon must make every effort to protect their customers against these highly sophisticated foreign adversaries—and be fully transparent about such efforts."
This issue coincides with a Republican reconciliation bill proposing an auction of spectrum adjacent to Department of Defense (DoD) equities for telecom industry use—a move criticized for its potential impact on national security.
In a discussion at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Senator Cantwell expressed concerns over this plan: “I wish we were involved in the negotiations... This is about disarming, and you are basically going to hand the Chinese a victory.”
She further criticized telecom companies' focus on expanding 5G and 6G services without adequately securing existing networks: “We as Americans should take this personally because it's attacking our information... Instead of building those more secure networks... they're out there asking us just to vacate DoD spectrum for missile defense.”
The full text of Senator Cantwell's letters to AT&T and Verizon can be accessed online.
