China Has Been ‘Hijacking the Vital Internet Backbone of Western Countries’

A Chinese state-owned telecommunications company has been “hijacking the vital internet backbone of western countries,” according to an academic paper published this week by researchers from the US Naval War College and Tel Aviv University.

The culprit is China Telecom, the country’s third-largest telco and internet service provider (ISP), which has had a presence inside North American networks since the early 2000s when it created its first point-of-presence (PoP).