Chinese hackers targeted phones used by Trump and Vance: Report

The Trump campaign was informed this week that Trump and Vance were among several individuals, both within and outside the government, whose phone numbers were targeted in the Verizon system breach.

Republican vice presidential nominee J D Vance and Former US president Donald Trump. (AP and Reuters Photo)

Chinese hackers reportedly breached Verizon’s system, aiming to target phones used by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, as reported by The New York Times on Friday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Investigators are currently assessing whether any communications were compromised. According to the newspaper, the Trump campaign was informed this week that Trump and Vance were among several individuals, both within and outside the government, whose phone numbers were targeted in the Verizon system breach.

However, the campaign has not confirmed that Trump’s and Vance’s phones were specifically targeted. Steven Cheung, the campaign’s communications director, claimed that Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris has emboldened China and Iran to attack US infrastructure, intending to hinder Trump’s return to office. Harris’s campaign could not be reached for comment.

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Earlier this year, the Trump campaign itself was hacked. The US Justice Department subsequently charged three members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, alleging their involvement in an attempt to disrupt the upcoming 5 November election.

On Friday, the FBI and the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued a joint statement confirming an investigation into unauthorised access to commercial telecommunications infrastructure linked to China. While the statement did not name specific targets, Verizon acknowledged awareness of a sophisticated attempt to gather intelligence on US telecoms and said it is cooperating with law enforcement authorities.

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