U.S. officials said Tuesday they had not expelled Chinese hackers from telecommunications companies, warning concerned users to turn to encrypted messages.

China-linked spies are still lurking inside U.S. telecommunications networks roughly six months after American officials started investigating the intrusions, senior officials told reporters Tuesday.

FBI and US cyber officials urge companies and consumers to take precautions as the scope of the Beijing-linked breach grows

The U.S. has been investigating the Salt Typhoon hackers since late spring and early summer this year, a senior FBI official said.

U.S. officials say they're investigating Chinese government-affiliated hackers who compromised the networks of of U.S. communication companies and were able to intercept private communications of people affiliated with the U.

Federal authorities on Tuesday urged telecommunication companies to boost network security following a sprawling Chinese hacking campaign that gave officials in Beijing access to private texts and phone conversations of an unknown number of Americans.

US officials are still trying to help major telecom providers evict Chinese government-backed hackers from their networks and don’t have a timeline for when that will be done, officials said Tuesday.