The Chinese continue to hack U.S. telecom networks in a cyberattack that allows it to access the communications of almost every American, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said.

Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told a Defense Writers Group event that Chinese intelligence remains "still inside" U.S. telecom systems as part of a sweeping campaign dubbed "Salt Typhoon," which he said has been ongoing for at least two years.

The senator warned that unless Americans are using encrypted communications, Chinese hackers can potentially "pick any one of us," reaching into unencrypted phone traffic with what former national security adviser Jake Sullivan previously described as a breach notable for its "sheer scale of access," according to Financial Times.

Warner said a recent government briefing was "really frustrating" and left him confused by conflicting assessments.

He said the FBI described networks as "pretty clean," while other intelligence components, citing multiple internal documents, reportedly insisted the intrusions are ongoing.

In September, the U.S. National Security Agency warned of continued Chinese cyber intrusions via Salt Typhoon into virtually all internet-connected systems and devices.

The alleged persistence of Salt Typhoon comes after decades of regulatory complacency and corporate cost-cutting have helped create a telecom "hodgepodge" built for speed and profit, not security, leaving the public to absorb the risk.

Warner argued that America’s patchwork networks are more vulnerable than those in Canada and Europe, and he has pushed legislation requiring telecom companies to meet minimum cybersecurity standards.

But he said the proposal is running into resistance because hardening networks could cost billions of dollars, including ripping out and replacing equipment that would need upgrades to meet stronger security requirements.

The senator also warned that U.S. inaction invites copycats.

Warner said Russia is attempting to exploit the same vulnerabilities exposed by Salt Typhoon — the predictable next step when adversaries see openings that Washington and industry haven't decisively closed.

While Warner faulted both parties for sluggish progress, he singled out what he described as a harmful reallocation of federal resources, saying the FBI shifted a large portion of personnel away from counterespionage and counterterrorism work toward immigration enforcement.

In the same vein, former CIA China expert Dennis Wilder told the Financial Times that workforce reductions at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency have weakened the federal response at a time when threats to U.S. telecommunications are growing.

China has repeatedly denied that its Ministry of State Security is behind hacking U.S. telecom networks, according to the report, and the White House did not respond to a request for comment.

The warning comes as cyberthreats are also being supercharged by artificial intelligence.

AI company Anthropic has said it disrupted what researchers described as a Chinese-linked operation using an AI system to help direct hacking efforts in a more automated way.

While that campaign was modest, targeting about 30 individuals, researchers said the speed at which AI-assisted hacking capabilities are scaling is alarming.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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