U.S. launches probe into Salt Typhoon hack after Microsoft alert, NYT reports

The U.S. government launched an investigation into the Salt Typhoon hack after Microsoft (MSFT) alerted it, Verizon (VZ), AT&T (T), and other companies about anomalies, The New York Times’ David E. SangerJulian E. BarnesDevlin Barrett and Adam Goldman reported on Friday. According to the report, the hackers, closely linked to China’s Ministry of State Security, lurked undetected inside the networks of the biggest American telecommunications firms for more than a year and got a nearly complete list of phone numbers the Justice Department monitors in its “lawful intercept” system. Officials now believe that the hack has gone beyond phone companies, to internet service providers, potentially allowing the Chinese to read some email.