科技英语新闻:4 suspected AT&T hackers linked to terrorist group

BEIJING, Nov. 28 (Xinhuanet) -- The U.S. FBI and police in the Philippines have arrested four alleged hackers in Manila with connections to a terrorist group in Saudi Arabia, according to media reports Monday.

The four who were arrested last Wednesday hacked into AT&T Inc.'s phone systems as part of a plan to funnel money to a Saudi-based terror group, the reports said.

The hackers, according to the investigators, worked for a group that helped finance a deadly 2008 terrorist attack in Mumbai, India.

Investigators also said the hacking cost AT&T around 2 million U.S. dollars. And an AT&T representative told Reuters that it "ended up writing off some fraudulent charges that appeared on customer bills" but did not comment on the 2 million dollars figure.

"AT&T and its network were neither targeted nor breached by the hackers," AT&T spokeswoman Jan Rasmussen said. "AT&T only assisted law enforcement in the investigation that led to the arrest of a group of hackers."