US Senate committee to investigate suspected Chinese hacking incidents

Musk who leads X, Tesla and SpaceX emerged as one of the biggest supporters of President-elect Donald Trump during the 2024 presidential campaign and endorsed the Republican with finances and by appearing in his campaign rallies. Trump recently appointed him as co-head of a newly created Department of Government Efficiency to “slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.”

The US authorities said on Wednesday that the China-linked hackers intercepted surveillance data which was intended for the law enforcement bodies of the US after compromising the security of an unspecified number of American telecom companies.

According to a joint statement released by FBI and CISA, the China-linked hackers broke into the networks of “multiple telecommunications companies” and stole call records and communication of American customers from “a limited number of individuals who are primarily involved in government or political activity,” according to Reuters.

The committee’s hearing will include, CrowdStrike Senior Vice President Adam Meyers and Telecommunications Industry Association CEO David Stehlin, Strategy Risks CEO Isaac Stone Fish and Sam Bresnick, research fellow at the Center for Security and Emerging Technology at Georgetown University.

Reports also emerged in the past couple of months about China-linked hackers targeting phones belonging to Donald Trump and his running mate Senator JD Vance, along with other senior political figures. Beijing has categorically denied any wrongdoing and claims by the US government.