US Elections 2024: Chinese Hackers Allegedly Targeted Trump and JD Vance’s Phone Records, Says Report

Phone records associated with the former US president Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vancewas reportedly the target of a cyber espionage operation allegedly orchestrated by Chinese hackers as part of an intelligence-gathering effort, a US newspaper reported on Friday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Investigators are evaluating whether any communications data was accessed or monitored through the “sophisticated breach of telecom systems,” according to sources who spoke anonymously due to the sensitive nature of the national security case, the New York Times reported.

Sources involved in the investigation, speaking anonymously due to the sensitivity of the matter, confirmed to the newspaper that the Trump campaign team had been informed of the hacking earlier this week.

The breach also appears to have targeted prominent figures within the Democratic Party. Staff members of the vice president Kamala Harris‘s campaign and notable Capitol Hill figures, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, were reportedly among those targeted. These revelations highlight the scale of the cyberattack, which Western cybersecurity experts have attributed to a hacking group they call ‘Salt Typhoon’.

The ongoing investigation aims to determine whether the hackers are still lurking within Verizon’s network, gathering information or preparing for further exploitation, the news report said.

The revelation came in the closing stages of a campaign in which Trump’s team has also been targeted by an Iranian hacker group accused of breaching Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign emails and managing to publish the stolen material to receive, according to the Reuters news agency. The hackers, who reportedly had ties to Iran’s Basij paramilitary force, shared the emails with a Democratic political operative who published them on the website of his PAC, American Muckrakers, and distributed them to independent journalists. This material includes internal Trump campaign conversations with advisers on various election topics, the report said.

The hacking group, known as Mint Sandstorm or APT42, is believed to have compromised the accounts of multiple Trump campaign staffers between May and June. The US Justice Department has charged three Iranian hackers in the breach and warned that they still pose a threat to campaign staff. If convicted, the hackers could face prison sentences and fines. This leak, the report said, highlights Iran’s continued attempts to interfere in the US elections, despite recent charges and warnings from Homeland Security. Attempts to reach the accused hackers were unsuccessful.

FBI and CISA investigate Chinese cyber activities

The FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a joint statement on October 25 confirming an ongoing investigation into unauthorized access to US telecommunications infrastructure by actors linked to the People’s Republic of China.

The statement read: The U.S. government is investigating unauthorized access to commercial telecommunications infrastructure by actors associated with the People’s Republic of China. After identifying specific malicious activity targeting the industry, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) immediately notified affected companies, provided technical assistance, and quickly shared information to identify other potential victims. to help. The investigation is ongoing and we encourage any organization that believes it may be a victim to contact its local FBI field office or CISA. Agencies across the U.S. government are working together to aggressively mitigate this threat and are coordinating with our industry partners to strengthen cyber defenses in the commercial communications sector.