Chinese hackers targeted the phones of Donald Trump and JD Vance

Chinese hackers targeted data from phones passing through Donald Trump And J.D. Vanceand members of Kamala Harriscampaign.

People close to the case told the New York Times that the hackers are believed to have compromised U.S. telecommunications networks, and that investigators are still trying to determine what information, if any, they collected.

But the FBI and national security officials are deeply concerned about the potential scope of the compromised data and the group of people who may have been targeted, the report said. Times report.

Researchers call the hacking campaign ‘Salt Typhoon’.

Intelligence about who a presidential candidate and his running mate have spoken to or exchanged text messages with could prove highly valuable to China, a U.S. adversary like to influence the upcoming elections at local, provincial and federal levels.

The Trump-Vance campaign was notified this week that the two men were among the targets of the hacking effort, which included a number of other people both inside and outside the government. Times.

In addition to the Republican presidential ticket, the targets also include prominent Democrats, including people associated with the Harris campaign. the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Magazine also said one of his own reporters was involved to cover last month’s breaches had been the target.

According to the MagazineAccording to the report, telecom companies breached in the attack include Verizon, AT&T and Lumen.

“We are aware that a highly sophisticated nation-state actor has reportedly targeted several US telecommunications providers for intelligence gathering,” Verizon spokesman Rich Young told The Guardian. Magazine. He also said the company is working with law enforcement to understand the scope of the breach.

The attack comes less than two weeks after an election that pitted Trump against Harris Currently the polls are in a dead heat. Any outside influence could tip the stalled race one way or another.

Earlier in the race, Trump’s team was targeted by hackers from Iran. As part of a spear-phishing campaign that used fake emails posing as a number of public figures – including Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas – to attack Trump campaign officials.

Those hackers were able to get away with some information about Trump’s debate preparations and possible vice presidential candidates, according to an indictment against the three Iranian men. It was also said that they had leaked some of the stolen information to the media in an attempt to sow discord around the elections.