Senate Intelligence Committee chair says his 'hair is on fire' as execs front the White House

The Biden administration on Friday hosted telco execs to chat about China's recent attacks on the sector, amid revelations that US networks may need mass rebuilds to recover.

Details of the extent of China's attacks came from senator Mark R Warner, who on Thursday gave both The Washington Post and The New York Times insights into info he's learned in his role as chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Warner told the Post "My hair is on fire" given the severity of China's attacks on US telcos. The attacks, which started well before the US election, have seen Middle Kingdom operatives establish a persistent presence – and may require the replacement of "literally thousands and thousands and thousands" of switches and routers.

The senator added that China's activities make Russia-linked incidents like the SolarWinds supply chain incident and the ransomware attack on Colonial Pipeline look like ...