“It was inevitable that foreign hackers would burrow deep into the American communications system the moment the FCC decided to let phone companies write their own cybersecurity rules.”
Congress demanded secure phone networks in 1994. Thirty years later, Wyden’s bill would make carriers do the basics: annual vulnerability testing, patching and an independent audit. Chinese state hackers sat inside T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon and Lumen for “months or longer.” CISA still can’t say with certainty they’re gone.