POLITICS & ELECTIONS

Chinese hackers targeted Trump and Vance’s phone data

Oct 25, 2024, 2:40 PM

FILE - Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump and Republican vice presidenti...

FILE - Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump and Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, attend the 9/11 Memorial ceremony on the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)

(AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)

(CNN)Government-linked Chinese hackers have targeted the phone communications of former President Donald Trump and vice presidential nominee JD Vance as part of a much broader cyber-espionage effort aimed at high-level US targets, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN.

The Chinese hackers have also targeted senior Biden administration officials, one of the sources said.

US officials informed the Trump campaign this week that Trump and Vance were among a group of people whose phones were targeted by the Chinese hackers, one of the sources said.  In a statement, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung attacked the Harris campaign for allegedly emboldening China.

It was not immediately clear what data, if any, the hackers were able to access. Phone communications of current and former senior US officials are coveted by foreign spies.

“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 US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said in a statement on Friday.

After the FBI identified the hacking targeting telecommunication firms, the FBI and CISA “immediately notified affected companies, rendered technical assistance, and rapidly shared information to assist other potential victims,” the statement continued, adding that the investigation was ongoing.

The New York Times first reported on the hacking targeting Trump and Vance’s phones.

The activity is part of a much broader Chinese hacking campaign that has infiltrated multiple US telecommunications firms in the last several months. Investigators believe the hackers are likely searching for sensitive national security information, including, in some cases, information on wiretap warrant requests made by the Justice Department, CNN previously reported.

In this case, there is no indication that the hackers’ search for data on Trump and Vance related to US law enforcement activity, the sources said.

Major US broadband and internet providers AT&T, Verizon and Lumen are among the hackers’ targets, CNN has reported.

The Chinese government has denied the allegations.

The news comes as China, Iran and Russia continue to try to influence or monitor different aspects of the US election. China has not mounted a concerted effort to influence the presidential election, but has targeted at least 10 congressional, state or local election races with covert social media campaigns, according to US intelligence agencies.

This story is breaking and will be updated.


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Chinese hackers targeted Trump and Vance’s phone data