By admin 
WASHINGTON – Chinese state-affiliated hackers have intercepted audio of the phone calls of American political figures, including an unnamed campaign adviser to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, the Washington Post reported Oct. 27.
The FBI and the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said on October 25 that they were investigating unauthorized access to commercial telecommunications infrastructure by people with ties to China.
Trump’s campaign and the FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Post also reported that the hackers accessed unencrypted communications, such as text messages, from the individual.
Reuters reported on October 25 that Chinese hackers also targeted phones used by people involved in the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, were targeted, several media reported last week.
The Trump campaign was notified last week that Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance were among a number of people inside and outside the government whose phone numbers were targeted through the infiltration of Verizon phone systems, the New York Times reported at October 25.
The Trump campaign was hacked earlier in 2024. The US Justice Department has charged three members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in the hack, accusing them of trying to disrupt the November 5 election.
Verizon said on Oct. 25 that it was aware of a sophisticated effort to attack U.S. telecom companies and gather intelligence and cooperate with law enforcement.
Congress is also investigating, and earlier this month US lawmakers asked AT&T, Verizon and Lumen Technologies to answer questions about reports that Chinese hackers had gained access to the networks of US broadband providers.
The Chinese embassy in Washington said last week that it was not aware of the specific situation, but said China opposes and combats cyber attacks and cyber thefts in all forms. REUTERS