Hackers affiliated with the Chinese government are believed to have targeted phones used by Donald Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, as part of a larger breach of US telecommunications networks, according to a New York Times report.
The Trump campaign was told this week that the Republican presidential and vice presidential candidate’s phone numbers were among those targeted during a breach of the Verizon network, the newspaper said, citing sources.
Researchers are working to determine what data, if any, was made accessible by the “sophisticated” hack, the sources said. Other current and former government officials were also targeted, according to the report.
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The FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency confirmed that an investigation was underway into “the unauthorized access to commercial telecommunications infrastructure by actors associated with the People’s Republic of China.” The statement did not mention Trump’s campaign.
“After identifying specific malicious activity targeting the industry, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) immediately notified affected companies, provided technical assistance, and quickly shared information to identify other potential victims. help,” the agency said.
The Trump campaign did not directly address whether the phones used by Trump and Vance were targeted.
In a statement, a Trump campaign spokesman, Steven Cheung, criticized the White House and Trump’s opponent, Kamala Harris, and tried to blame them for allowing a foreign adversary to target the campaign, the Times reported.
A Wall Street Journal report last month said a cyberattack linked to the Chinese government had infiltrated multiple U.S. telecommunications companies and potentially gained access to systems used by the federal government in court-approved wiretapping activities.
According to the report, the hackers gained access to at least three telecommunications companies – AT&T, Verizon and Lumen Technologies – in what may have been an attempt to find sensitive information related to national security.
The Trump campaign earlier this year revealed it had been hacked, saying Iranian actors had stolen and distributed sensitive internal documents.
The U.S. Department of Justice in September unsealed criminal charges against three members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard suspected of hacking the Trump campaign.
Justice Department officials said hackers sought to undermine Trump’s campaign and sow division, exploit divisions within American society and potentially influence the outcome of the Nov. 5 election.
With the elections just two weeks away, Trump and Kamala Harris are locked in a tight race. Both in national head-to-head polls and in surveys in the crucial swing states where the election will be decided, the pair appear to be close to an impasse.
