Chinese government-backed hackers have penetrated deep into U.S. internet service providers in recent months to spy on their users, according to people familiar with the ongoing American response and private security researchers.
The unusually aggressive and sophisticated attacks include access to at least two major U.S. providers with millions of customers as well as to several smaller providers, people familiar with the separate campaigns said.
“It is business as usual now for China, but that is dramatically stepped up from where it used to be. It is an order of magnitude worse,” said Brandon Wales, who until earlier this month was executive director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, CISA.
The hacks raise concern because their targets are believed to include government and military personnel working undercover and groups of strategic interest to China.
“This is privileged, high-level connectivity to interesting customers,” said Mike Horka, a former FBI agent …