China govt-linked hackers: Trump and Vance’s phone data in the crosshairs

CHINA: The Chinese government-linked hackers have targeted the phone communication of presidential candidate Donald Trump and vice president JD Vance, which is part of their spy efforts into the US government.

The information was provided by reliable sources to CNN reporters. The hackers also targeted people involved with the Harris-Walz campaign and officials in President Joe Biden’s administration.

However, it is unclear if they managed to access any data and, if so, what sort of data they managed to access.

Chinese hackers target Trump and Vance phones. Verizon is working with the FBI pic.twitter.com/nZNuAbKz5o

— Karli Bonne’ 🇺🇸 (@KarluskaP) October 25, 2024

The FBI and the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a statement on Friday saying:

“The U.S. government is investigating the unauthorized access to commercial telecommunications infrastructure by actors affiliated with the People’s Republic of China.”

The FBI and the CISA also said they immediately notified affected companies once they identified the hacking, rendered technical assistance, and rapidly shared information to assist other potential victims.

CNN reported that the hacking is part of a much bigger campaign by China and that they have gained access to multiple US telecommunications firms.

Investigators suspect that they are looking for national security information.

However, there is no indication that the hackers looking for data on Trump and Vance’s phones were looking for data related to US law enforcement activity.

According to CNN, the targeted companies were AT&T, Verizon and Lumen.

Virginia Democrat Senator Mark Warner told CNN, “This is a very serious breach that the committee is monitoring on a daily basis,”

Tennessee Republican Rep Mark Green said, “It’s a very concerning cyber breach. It is broad and deep.”

The Chinese government, however, is rejecting all allegations. China has also earmarked 10 congressional, state and local election races with covert social media campaigns.

China, Russia and Iran are trying to influence the US election in different ways.

Featured image by Depositphotos (for illustration purposes only)