Chinese telcos reportedly under US data security probe

Reuters reports that investigations into Chinese telecommunications firms China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom have reportedly been launched by the U.S. Department of Commerce amid worries about potential American data compromise through their U.S. cloud and internet businesses.

All the firms have already been subpoenaed, while China Mobile and China Telecom were already subjected to "risk-based analyses," according to sources close to the matter, who noted that the action seeks to address concerns that the firms could hand over intellectual property and personal data to the Chinese government. No specific action on the threat has been decided but regulators could move to prevent the telecommunications companies' data center and internet data routing operations, said the sources. Such a development comes after all the companies were barred by the Federal Communications Commission from providing telephone and broadband services after China Telecom was discovered to have conducted internet traffic routing through China.