Experts Say China Telecom Diverted U.S. Internet Traffic Through China

By Jeff Ferry

Three Internet security experts have accused state-owned telecom giant China Telecom of diverting internal U.S. Internet traffic through China. The purpose, apparently, was corporate espionage.

According to Doug Madory, an expert on Internet traffic at Silicon Valley software maker Oracle, China Telecom’s network sent out false signals that diverted Internet traffic supposedly bound for the Verizon network onto the China Telecom network. The traffic passed through Hangzhou and other Chinese cities, and this went on undetected for an incredible 30 months, from late 2015 through 2017, according to Madory.

“China Telecom… has misdirected Internet traffic (including out of the United States) in recent years. I know because I expended a great deal of effort to stop it in 2017,” Madory wrote in his Nov. 5th blog post on Oracle’s website, entitled “China Telecom’s Internet Traffic Misdirection.” [more...]