Chinese hackers recently attempted to compromise the cellphones of former President Donald Trump and Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance by infiltrating U.S. telecommunications systems, in a breach uncovered just 11 days before the U.S. election.
Chinese hackers tried to break into the cellphones of Donald Trump and JD Vance, national security sources have revealed to the New York Times. Bloomberg via Getty Images
This sophisticated cyberattack, first reported by The New York Times, reportedly targeted Verizon’s network and may have granted access to sensitive data or messages sent by Trump, 78, and Vance, 40.
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The breach, allegedly linked to Chinese intelligence services, only came to Trump and Vance’s attention this week, raising concerns about the potential for intercepted communications.
Security officials are still working to assess how many communications—whether encrypted or not—might have been compromised or may remain accessible by the hacking group.
Top congressional Democrats and officials associated with Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign were also allegedly targeted by the hacking group. Known as Salt Typhoon, this China-linked entity is believed to have infiltrated several U.S. telecom providers, including Verizon, AT&T, and Lumen.
According to a Wall Street Journal report from September, the breach could extend to data these companies provide under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
The FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released a joint statement confirming “unauthorised access to commercial telecommunications infrastructure by actors affiliated with the People’s Republic of China.” Both agencies are investigating and “collaborating to mitigate this threat aggressively.”
In response, a Verizon spokesperson acknowledged the intrusion, calling it an intelligence-gathering effort by a state actor, and confirmed that the company is actively assessing and working to remediate potential impacts.
Adding to concerns of foreign interference, a separate indictment filed by the Justice Department on Sept. 26 revealed that Iranian paramilitary operatives had successfully hacked members of Trump’s team earlier in the year, allegedly forwarding sensitive information to President Biden’s re-election campaign.
Hackers from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) used phishing emails to target Trump campaign operatives, U.S. government officials, journalists, and others. Reports indicate that they gathered information, including a dossier on Vance, to assist Biden in preparing for a June debate with Trump.
Tehran reportedly initiated its targeting of Trump and his allies following the January 2020 U.S. airstrike that killed IRGC Commander Qassem Soleimani. Since then, there have been claims of plots to kill the former president, either through a drone attack or paid hitmen.
According to a declassified Oct. 16 memo from the National Intelligence Council, the U.S. intelligence community believes that China, Iran, and Russia all seek to influence the 2024 election and possess technical capabilities to access some election-related networks and systems.
The memo noted that while Iran initially favoured Biden, it pivoted to supporting Harris after he dropped out. China, by contrast, reportedly aims to influence congressional races rather than favouring a particular presidential candidate.
Trump’s campaign responded, with spokesman Steven Cheung condemning what he called “election interference” by Kamala Harris and her Democratic allies.
He argued that foreign adversaries were emboldened by “dangerous and violent rhetoric” to prevent Trump from returning to the White House. He claimed that Harris represents a “weak” America that would yield to adversaries, whereas Trump would confront them head-on.
Neither the Harris campaign nor the Chinese embassy in Washington provided comments on the matter.
