A top Democratic senator has warned that Chinese intelligence is still inside U.S. telecommunications networks as part of a sweeping cyber campaign known as “Salt Typhoon,” saying the operation gives Beijing access to the unencrypted communications of almost anyone in America, the Financial Times reported.

Sen. Mark Warner, the ranking Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee, said after receiving a briefing on the hack that he believed the intruders remained present in U.S. systems, according to the report. Speaking at a Defense Writers Group event, Warner described the government briefing as “really frustrating,” citing conflicting accounts of the U.S. response. 

According to Warner, the FBI told lawmakers networks were “pretty clean,” while other intelligence agencies disputed that assessment, with Warner saying he had multiple agency documents raising concerns about the campaign, which he said has been running for at least two years.

The senator said the hackers, which he described as directed by China’s Ministry of State Security, could read unencrypted phone communications broadly across the United States. He also warned that other adversaries could take advantage of exposed weaknesses, saying Russia was seeking to exploit vulnerabilities left unaddressed, the FT reported. 

Warner argued that the response has been undermined by staffing and policy decisions, including the reassignment of a large share of FBI personnel working on counterespionage and counterterrorism to immigration raids. 

The FT also quoted Dennis Wilder, a former senior CIA China expert, who said federal efforts against cyber threats had been reduced, pointing to workforce cuts at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency despite rising risks to U.S. telecoms.

Read more at the Financial Times