Chinese hackers are said to have attacked phones used by Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance in a breach of a telecommunications network, a new report claims.
The Trump campaign was informed earlier this week that the phone numbers of the Republican presidential candidate and his running mate were breached. The New York Times reported.
Staff have been warned that data may have been accessed in the sophisticated hack.
It was believed to be part of an infiltration of Verizon’s phone systems.
Investigators are trying to find out if any data was taken during the hacking of phones used by politicians and government employees.
It is just the latest example of a foreign actor seeking to illicitly influence US elections.
Chinese hackers are said to have attacked phones used by Donald Trump and Kamala Harris in a breach of a telecommunications network, a new report claims.
Late last month, the Justice Department accused Iranian hackers of hacking into the Trump campaign in an effort to interfere in the election.
Even information about who Trump and Vance were calling and texting would be valuable information, whether or not it provides insight into the content.
It would allow more hacking operations to target your contacts and reveal information about who remains in your circle.
Already this election there have been reports that Trump and his top supporter, Elon Musk, have been in contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a sign of how the mere existence of contact can cause political upheaval.
The attack also targeted Senator JD Vance.
Officials say the Trump campaign learned of the breach this week.
Trump is a regular mobile phone user (although he is not believed to send text messages) and frequently drops public hints about high-profile people he has been in contact with.
In recent days he revealed a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trump spoke about Russian hacking during the 2016 campaign when he said, “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you can find the 30,000 emails that are missing, I think you’ll probably be greatly rewarded by our press.” ‘
According to former special counsel Robert Mueller, the Russians began carrying out spearfishing attacks against email addresses associated with Clinton around that time.
That election would include a series of hacked revelations published on WikiLeaks.
Hackers linked to Beijing broke into multiple internet service providers, the Wall Street Journal reported late last month. It was part of a campaign that researchers called Salt Typhoon.
Relations between the United States and China have been tense for years. Trump imposed tariffs on Beijing that remained in place during the Joe Biden administration. China has maintained close ties with Russia even amid its war against Ukraine. And the incident of a Chinese spy balloon caused a furore as it crossed the United States.
Biden sought to put relations on a more stable footing with his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in California in April. Both Biden and Xi will attend the upcoming APEC summit in Lima, Peru.
