Report: Chinese hackers used telecom access to go after phones of Trump, Vance

U.S. authorities said they are investigating “unauthorized access to telecommunications infrastructure” by hackers linked to China.

Federal authorities say they are investigating “unauthorized access to telecommunications commercial infrastructure” from Chinese hackers as news reports allege that the hackers may have used that access to target the phones and data of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and vice-presidential candidate J.D. Vance.

In a joint statement released Friday, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said they are investigating a breach into U.S. telecommunications infrastructure “by actors affiliated with the People’s Republic of China.”

“After the FBI identified specific malicious activity targeting the sector, the FBI and [CISA] immediately notified affected companies, rendered technical assistance, and rapidly shared information to assist other potential victims,” the agencies wrote. “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 same day, the New York Times reported that Trump and Vance were “among a number of people inside and outside government” whose phone numbers were targeted by Chinese hackers with access to U.S. telecommunications networks, and prominent Democrats and Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign may also have had their phones data targeted.

The joint statement from CISA and the FBI does not mention Vance or Trump and does not identify any other potential victims or targets. 

Chinese government-linked hackers dubbed Salt Typhoon have infiltrated U.S. internet service providers recently, aiming to gain a foothold that would allow them to access telecommunications’ companies data or launch cyberattacks, The Wall Street Journal reported last month.

Federal agencies and Congress were already scrambling to respond to and determine the ultimate scope and impact of the hack, which reportedly included at least three major U.S. telecoms: AT&T, Verizon and Lumen.

It would mark the second foreign country confirmed to have targeted and possibly breached one of the two major parties’ political campaigns this election cycle. The U.S. government last month charged three Iranians over their alleged involvement in hacking the Trump campaign earlier this year. The Iranians, who also targeted officials in the Harris campaign, are seeking to harm the electoral prospects of Trump this year, U.S. intelligence officials have said.

Microsoft’s Threat Analysis Center has said foreign cyber attackers have continued to take aim at both Trump’s campaign and that of the Democratic presidential ticket, Kamala Harris-Tim Walz. 

Russians “continue to integrate generative AI into their content, Iranian groups ramp up their preparations to enable cyber-influence operations, while Chinese actors shift focus to several down-ballot candidates and members of Congress,” wrote Clint Watts, general manager of the center.

Government

• FBI officials say AI is bolstering adversaries, emphasizing need to focus on cyber basics, patching

• Feds accuse China of ‘systematic’ distillation of U.S. AI models

• CIA’s Michael Ellis says cyber intelligence is changing how the agency operates

• The G7 tells industry to hurry up and prep for post-quantum encryption

Technology

• European parliament members call for slowdown of Serbia’s EU entry over spyware use

• FCC proposes public scorecard to rate telecoms on anti-robocall efforts

• Pegasus, NoviSpy variant spyware found on devices of Serbian activists

• Wyden seeks upgraded NSA security guidance on commercial VPN use

Threats

• Microsoft discloses two actively exploited zero-days among 974 vulnerabilities

• Russian national extradited to US for alleged involvement in bank-account takeover scheme

• Attackers exploit zero-days in consistently besieged SonicWall product

• Jail time for Maine child in 764 marks turning point in federal law enforcement

Policy

• Whistleblower says USPS deploying new, ‘untested’ IT systems governing mail-in ballots

• ‘Watershed 250’ test program in Texas looks to private sector for water cybersecurity help

• Former sexual abuse victims say Grok used their images, videos to train deepfake capabilities

• Cyber threats nudge Trump to sign executive order on foreign equipment in U.S. energy infrastructure