Washington moves to boost crackdown on China Telecom's US unit, source says

17/12/2024 12:25

The U.S. Commerce Department is moving to further crack down on China Telecom's U.S. unit over concerns it could exploit access to American data through their U.S. cloud and internet businesses by providing it to Beijing.



The source confirmed a New York Times report that the department last week sent China Telecom Americas a preliminary determination that its presence in U.S. networks and cloud services poses U.S. national security risks and gave the company 30 days to respond.



In 2021, the Federal Communications Commission revoked China Telecom Americas' authorization to operate in the United States, citing national security concerns.



There is growing alarm in Washington about China's alleged efforts known as Salt Typhoon to infiltrate American telecommunications companies and steal data about U.S. calls. Senators have said the attack likely represents the largest telecommunications hack in U.S. history.