Major US Telecom Backbone Firm Hacked by Nation-State Actors

Ribbon Communications, a US company that provides backbone technology for communications networks, revealed that hackers gained unauthorized access to its IT network, with the incident disclosed in a quarterly report submitted recently to the SEC. The firm said investigators believe initial access may date back to December 2024, and that the breach was detected in early September 2025, with several customer files saved outside the main network on two laptops appearing to have been accessed by the threat actor.

Ribbon states a nation-state threat actor is believed to be behind the attack, and the attack profile points to China as a likely suspect. The company emphasised that impacted customers have been notified and that it does not expect the hack to have a material impact, though it anticipates some costs from the investigation. Ribbon’s customer list includes BT, Verizon, Deutsche Telekom, CenturyLink, TalkTalk, Softbank, Tata, the US Department of Defense and the City of Los Angeles.