U.S. authorities say cybercriminals linked to China may have attempted to wiretap phones or networks used by former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Senator J.D. Vance. CBS News, the BBC’s U.S. news partner, confirmed this through multiple sources familiar with the matter. .
The Trump-Vance campaign was alerted to the fact that cellphones used by Trump and Vance may have been among the targets of a broader cyberattack, according to sources.
People associated with the Harris-Walz campaign were also targeted, an acquaintance told BBC News.
It is unclear how much information was compromised.
The Justice Department and the FBI declined to comment on whether the candidates were targeted.
joint statement The FBI and the Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said the U.S. government was investigating “unauthorized access to commercial communications infrastructure by actors linked to the People’s Republic of China.”
They added that after the “malicious activity” was identified, they “immediately notified the affected companies, provided technical support, and quickly shared information to help other potential victims.”
“U.S. government agencies are working together to aggressively mitigate this threat and are working with industry partners to strengthen cyber defenses across the commercial communications sector,” he added.
The Trump campaign criticized the Democratic Party, claiming without evidence that the hacking incident was an attempt to “block President Trump’s return to the White House.”
Law enforcement currently considers the hack an act of espionage rather than an attempt at campaign influence, a source told CBS.
Earlier this month, it was revealed that US telecommunications companies had been targeted by hacking.
According to the New York Times, which first reported the news, one of the affected companies is reportedly Verizon, and hackers may have potentially targeted Trump and Vance’s data.
“The company is aware that a highly sophisticated nation-state actor has targeted several U.S. telecommunications providers to gather information,” Verizon spokesman Rich Young said in a statement.
He said Verizon is assisting law enforcement with their investigation and is working to resolve any further issues.
The Trump campaign was already the target of hacking earlier this year.
Three Iranian nationals with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were indicted in September on charges of deliberately trying to undermine the presidential election campaign.
U.S. government agencies and officials have long warned of the threat of foreign interference in the United States, including in U.S. elections.
“Our adversaries view U.S. elections as a point of influence, undermining trust in our democracy, and undermining their thumbs,” National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said last summer. “We are clear about it. And we’re working hard to combat that.”
In January, the issue was debated in Congress, and FBI Director Christopher Wray warned that Chinese hackers were preparing to “wreak havoc and cause real harm” in the United States.
