Chinese believed to have targeted Trump’s and Vance’s phones in US telecommunications breach
In a recent development, the Trump campaign has quickly pointed fingers at the Biden administration and Vice President Kamala Harris, following revelations of a cyberattack believed to be linked to the Chinese government. According to a report from the New York Times, hackers targeted the phones of Donald Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, as part of a broader breach affecting U.S. telecommunications networks.
Sources indicated that the Trump campaign learned this week that the phone numbers of both Trump and Vance were included among those compromised during a significant security breach involving Verizon. Investigators are currently working to ascertain whether any sensitive data was accessed through this sophisticated hacking operation, which also reportedly targeted other current and former government officials.
The FBI, along with the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), has confirmed that they’re investigating unauthorized access to commercial telecommunications infrastructure linked to actors from the People’s Republic of China. While the FBI did not explicitly mention the Trump campaign in its statement, it acknowledged that they had notified affected companies and shared information to assist potential victims.
A spokesperson for the Trump campaign, Steven Cheung, did not directly confirm whether Trump’s and Vance’s phones were compromised. However, he criticized the Biden White House and Harris, suggesting that they bore responsibility for allowing a foreign adversary to pose a threat to the campaign.
Further complicating matters, a Wall Street Journal article from last month detailed a cyberattack associated with the Chinese government, which reportedly infiltrated multiple U.S. telecommunications firms. The hackers gained access to systems employed in federal wiretapping initiatives, with a clear interest in sensitive national security information. Companies such as AT&T, Verizon, and Lumen Technologies have all been implicated in this breach.
Earlier this year, the Trump campaign revealed it had also been targeted by Iranian hackers, who allegedly stole and disseminated sensitive internal documents. In September, the U.S. Department of Justice unsealed criminal charges against three members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps for their role in hacking the Trump campaign, purportedly aimed at disrupting Trump’s efforts and provoking social discord ahead of the pivotal November 5 election.
As the election approaches, the race between Trump and Harris has become increasingly competitive, with both candidates nearly tied in national polls and critical battleground states, raising the stakes for both campaigns in the final stretch.
