The Washington Post reported on Sunday that Chinese state-linked hackers had intercepted phone calls of U.S. political figures, including Donald Trump’s unnamed campaign adviser.
On Friday, various media outlets reported that the Trump campaign named the Republican presidential candidate and vice presidential candidate among the numerous people inside and outside the government whose phone numbers were targeted in a breach of Verizon’s phone system last week. He said he was informed that J.D. Vance was included.
The FBI and the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency confirmed they were investigating unauthorized access to commercial communications infrastructure by Chinese actors, but did not name the Trump campaign in a statement.
Reuters later reported that Chinese hackers also targeted cellphones used by people associated with the Kamala Harris campaign.
The newspaper now reports that the hackers were able to access unencrypted communications from a Trump campaign adviser, including audio from a phone call and his text messages.
The Trump campaign and the FBI did not respond to requests for comment.
The Trump campaign was hacked earlier this year. The U.S. Department of Justice has indicted three members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on hacking charges for allegedly trying to interfere with the November 5 election.
Verizon said Friday that it is aware of sophisticated attempts to target U.S. carriers and collect information and is cooperating with law enforcement.
Congress is also investigating, and earlier this month, U.S. lawmakers asked AT&T, Verizon and Lumen Technologies to answer questions about reports that Chinese hackers gained access to U.S. broadband providers’ networks.
The Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C., said last week that China opposes and combats all forms of cyber-attacks and cyber-theft, although it said it was not aware of the specific situation.
