The FBI has opened an inquiry into suspected Chinese hacking after hearing rumors that JD Vance and Donald Trump’s cell phones may have been compromised.
As per media reports, on Friday, Chinese hackers targeted the mobile phones of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and his running mate, as well as those connected to her campaign.
The media reports stated that hackers had gained access to Verizon’s network and that investigators were trying to ascertain whether any messages had been intercepted. The Harris campaign’s staff members were also targeted, according to confirmation from the Associated Press news agency.
In a statement, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said that the government was looking into “actors affiliated with the People’s Republic of China” who had “unauthorized access” to the nation’s communications infrastructure.
“Agencies across the US government are collaborating to aggressively mitigate this threat and are coordinating with our industry partners to strengthen cyber defences across the commercial communications sector,” said the two agencies.
Verizon stated that it was aware of a sophisticated attempt to allegedly target US telecoms and acquire intelligence, although they did not identify the incident’s targets.
According to the New York Times, the Trump campaign was informed this week that Vance’s and the former president’s phone numbers were among many others that were targeted by Verizon phone system intrusion.
The Republican campaign did not confirm that the phones of the former president and his running mate were targeted, it added.
Regarding the reports, the Democratic campaign has not yet responded.
High alert
As US officials continue to be on high alert for foreign meddling in the last stages of the presidential race, news has surfaced that prominent political figures and their campaigns were targeted.
Earlier this year, the Trump campaign was compromised. Three members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were accused by the US Justice Department of attempting to tamper with the election scheduled for November 5.
China, on the other hand, is thought by US intelligence officials to be impartial in the contest and is instead concentrating on smaller, local elections that target politicians from both parties according to their positions on matters that Beijing considers important, such as support for Taiwan.
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