US points finger at China amid reports of Trump, Vance phone hacks
The FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) are investigating alleged hacks by Chinese-affiliated actors amid multiple media reports that former President Trump's and running mate Sen. JD Vance's (R-Ohio) phones were targeted and possibly compromised.
The FBI and CISA, in a joint statement released Friday morning, said they are looking into the "unauthorized access to commercial telecommunications infrastructure" by actors affiliated with China.
“Agencies across the U.S. Government are collaborating to aggressively mitigate this threat and are coordinating with our industry partners to strengthen cyber defenses across the commercial communications sector,” the FBI said.
The statement mentioned neither Trump nor Vance, though reporting circulated Friday from The New York Times that the Trump campaign was told this week hackers may have gained access to Trump's and Vance's phone data during a breach of telecommunications systems in the U.S.
Other media outlets later reported the same.
Investigators are looking into whether any communications data was taken or observed in the breach, the Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Vance and Trump were among various people targeted in the alleged breach, the Times reported. Others included some Democrats on Capitol Hill and potentially staff members of Vice President Harris's campaign, the outlet added.
Steven Cheung, Trump campaign communications director, did not verify the reports but claimed the Harris campaign and Democratic officials "allowed major foreign adversaries to attack us" by fostering a weak foreign policy.
The FBI declined to comment on whether Trump and Vance were targeted, and CISA referred comments to the Trump campaign.
The Hill reached out to the Harris campaign for further comment.
A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy to the U.S. said it was not aware of the specific situation and declined to comment on whether the operation targeted Trump and Vance, but said the country "firmly opposes and combats cyber attacks and cyber theft in all forms."
"The presidential elections are the United States’ domestic affairs. China has no intention and will not interfere in the US election. We hope that the US side will not make accusations against China in the election."
The incident comes amid heightened concerns over election interference efforts with less than two weeks to go before Election Day.
Earlier this week, Microsoft released a report revealing Chinese influence operations targeted a handful of Republican candidates and congressional members who “advocate for anti-Chinese policies.”
The FBI and other federal agencies have repeatedly warned that China, Russia and Iran are among the foreign adversaries ramping up efforts to meddle with the 2024 election.
Iran is accused of spearheading a separate hack of the Trump campaign last summer and attempting to share the information with President Biden's campaign.