Suspected Chinese hackers are behind an ongoing cyberespionage campaign against U.S. technology companies and legal firms, stealing national security secrets often while remaining undetected, according to Alphabet¡¯s Google.

The hacking group, which Google tracks under the code name UNC5221, are "the most prevalent adversary in the U.S. over the past several years¡± in terms of frequency, severity and complexity of incidents, said Charles Carmakal, chief technology officer at Google Cloud¡¯s Mandiant consulting arm.

The attackers are described as extraordinarily advanced and stealthy. They dwell undiscovered in their victims¡¯ networks for an average of more than a year, all the while stealing information about U.S. national security and international trade, researchers said. The same group is also targeting key European industries.