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Chinese state-sponsored hackers may have spied on phones belonging to Donald Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, after secretly infiltrating US telecommunication networks.
The New York Times reports that US investigators notified the Trump campaign about the potential spying, which occurred when Chinese hackers gained access to Verizon’s phone systems. Trump and Vance are among a group of people within and outside the US government to be targeted, which also included staff members of Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign.
On Friday, the FBI confirmed that it's investigating the threat of Chinese hackers breaching US telecommunication networks.
"After the FBI identified specific malicious activity targeting the sector, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) immediately notified affected companies, rendered technical assistance, and rapidly shared information to assist other potential victims,” the agency said. “The investigation is ongoing, and we encourage any organization that believes it might be a victim to engage its local FBI field office or CISA.”
The hack appears to be tied to a Chinese state-sponsored hacking group, dubbed Salt Typhon, which allegedly breached several US internet service providers, including AT&T, Verizon, and Lumen Technology. At the time, The Wall Street Journal reported that the hack may have given the Chinese group access to network infrastructure ISPs use to answer court-authorized wiretapping requests, giving them a foothold into the US' own surveillance network. Infiltrating the networks also gave the Chinese hackers access to certain portions of generic internet traffic.
The Times indicates the scope of the breach may be far larger than previously thought, potentially compromising the security of both presidential campaigns. For now, the FBI says: “Agencies across the US Government are collaborating to aggressively mitigate this threat and are coordinating with our industry partners to strengthen cyber defenses across the commercial communications sector.”