FBI Investigates Chinese Hack Of US Telecoms After Phones By Trump And Harris Are Targeted

A joint statement by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience (CISA) have revealed that parties affiliated with People's Republic of China have gained access to U.S. commercial telecommunication infrastructure. Some of the phones targeted by the attack include Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and running mate, Sen. JD Vance. People associated with Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign are also said to be targets.

With the presidential election around the corner, it seems non-coincidental that the nefarious actors within the PRC (or even the PRC government itself) have yet again accessed U.S. telecom networks. An FBI and CISA statement acknowledged that China had recently hacked AT&T, Verizon, and Lumen Technologies. Both parties assured that "agencies across the U.S. government are collaborating to aggressively mitigate this threat and are coordinating with our industry partners to strengthen cyber defenses across the commercial communications sector."

However, no one knows the true nature of these attacks. This latest breach could just be part of a long history (and string) of espionage rather than with the intention of influencing or manipulating the upcoming elections. Nonetheless with phones on both Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns being targets—including former President Donald Trump, his running mate JD Vance, unspecified staff in Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer—some are saying that China may be setting up for some kind of electoral disruption.

In an email to NBC News, a spokesperson from the Chinese embassy in Washington D.C. said that "the presidential elections are the United States’ domestic affairs. China has no intention and will not interfere in the US election. We hope that the US side will not make accusations against China in the election." The embassy insisted that it's not aware of the specific situation.

Besides China, both Iran and Russia have been accused of launching campaigns to control voting favor between Harris and Trump. Russia has openly admitted to influence and propaganda-planting operations, while Iran has denied ever doing so. 

Investigations into this particular breach are till ongoing. When this malicious activity was detected, the FBI and CISA, "immediately notified affected companies, rendered technical assistance, and rapidly shared information to assist other potential victims."