Federal authorities say Chinese-backed cybercriminals attempted to infiltrate phones and networks used by members of the presidential campaigns of former President Donald Trump, Sen. J.D. Vance and Vice President Kamala Harris. “We are thinking about it,” multiple sources familiar with the matter confirmed to CBS News. Officials are concerned that hackers may have infiltrated the communications system and targeted the candidates, the people said.
The extent of the cyber operations and information that the suspected hackers may have compromised remains unclear. Officials said the campaign was recently alerted that cellphones used by candidates may be among the targets of a cyber campaign.
The news was first reported by the New York Times.
The Justice Department and FBI declined to comment.
A person familiar with the investigation told CBS News that the possible targeting of Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance was part of a broader cyberattack targeting executives from both major political parties, and that law enforcement had recently He said he had notified the victims. Another person said law enforcement is now treating the hack as an act of espionage rather than an attempt to influence the campaign.
In a joint statement released by the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the agencies said, “The U.S. government is investigating unauthorized access to commercial telecommunications infrastructure by persons with ties to the People’s Republic of China.” .
“After the FBI identifies specific malicious activity targeting this sector, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) immediately notify affected companies and provide technical assistance. We quickly shared information to assist other potential victims. The investigation is ongoing and we are contacting local FBI field offices and CISA to any organizations we believe may be victims. We encourage them to collaborate with us,” the statement said.
A Trump campaign spokesperson said in a statement that Democrats were responsible for the hack and that it was an attempt to “prevent President Trump from returning to the White House.”
Federal investigators have been investigating a possible Chinese-backed hack of a major U.S. telecommunications company for weeks, raising concerns that cybercriminals may have used the access to gather information about key government intelligence-gathering capabilities. A U.S. official familiar with the matter earlier told CBS News that he believes there is. this month.
A group of hackers known as “Salt Typhoon” attacked a number of major US companies, including Verizon, AT&T, and Lumen Technologies. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the depth and seriousness of the hack was not yet clear.
Chinese hackers have also penetrated systems used by U.S. intelligence agencies to conduct eavesdropping, the official said, and both government agencies and affected private companies have been exposed to malicious actors. They are trying to understand what kind of information they were able to collect.
“We are aware of reports that highly sophisticated nation-state actors are targeting multiple telecommunications providers in the United States for intelligence gathering purposes,” Verizon spokesperson Rich Young said in a statement Friday. Verizon, along with federal law enforcement, industry peers, and third-party cyber experts, is committed to assisting law enforcement in this investigation and will have no further comment at this time.”
A spokesperson for Lumen Technologies declined to comment. AT&T declined to comment.
FBI Director Christopher Wray and other U.S. government officials have long warned about the cyber threat posed by China. Chinese government-backed hackers recently targeted U.S. water treatment facilities and power grids, strategically positioning themselves within critical infrastructure systems and “causing havoc and threatening real-world threats to U.S. citizens and communities.” ,” Wray told Congress in January.
The Salt Typhoon hack is not the first cyber operation to potentially target those involved in the 2024 presidential election.
The Justice Department last month indicted three Iranian hackers for allegedly targeting members of former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign as part of a “widespread” malicious cyber scheme. According to the indictment, three members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. “A widespread hacking campaign that uses spear-phishing and social engineering techniques to target and compromise the accounts of current and former U.S. government officials, members of the media, non-governmental organizations, and individuals associated with U.S. political campaigns.” Executed.
The indictment does not name the camps the defendants allegedly targeted, but U.S. officials have consistently said Iran was trying to undermine Trump’s bid for the White House.
Olivia Rinaldi and Margaret Brennan contributed to this report.
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