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.

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.

Chinese hackers who penetrated U.S. telecoms likely haven't been fully evicted partially due to shifting tactics made in response to public disclosures, federal