Chinese hackers allegedly targeted cell phones used by ex-President Donald Trump, his vice presidential running mate JD Vance and Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign.
What, if any, information was retrieved from the phones is being determined by investigators, sources told The New York Times on Friday.
‘The U.S. Government is investigating the unauthorized access to commercial telecommunications infrastructure by actors affiliated with the People’s Republic of China,’ stated the FBI and the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency on Friday.
Both agencies said they ‘immediately notified affected companies, rendered technical assistance, and rapidly shared information to assist other potential victims’, according to CNN.
The Trump campaign was informed this week that the Verizon phones were infiltrated. It did not immediately confirm if Trump and Vance’s phones were compromised.
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung quickly blamed Harris for allowing China to target the Republican camp, and criticized the White House.
Any text messages or data that hackers may have obtained could potentially aid China in efforts to influence people close to Trump, at a critical time with the November election less than two weeks away.
The targeting could also have wider implications on national security.
Verizon spokesman Rich Young stated that the company is ‘aware that a highly sophisticated nation-state actor has reportedly targeted several US telecommunications providers to gather intelligence’ and working with law enforcement agencies investigating the incidents.
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Some cybersecurity experts believe the Salt Typhoon group, an advanced persistent threat actor run by the Chinese government, was responsible for the latest attack.
The Chinese hackers’ reported moves comes just over a month after the FBI announced that Iranian hackers sent information stolen from Trump’s campaign to President Joe Biden’s team.
That attempt to interfere with the 2024 presidential election happened in late June or early July, before Biden dropped out of the race.
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