Chinese hackers collected audio from a Trump campaign adviser’s calls – report

In a recent interview, the Washington Post revealed that Chinese state-affiliated hackers managed to intercept audio and text messages from the phone calls of U.S. political figures, including an unnamed adviser to Donald Trump. According to reports from multiple media sources, the Trump campaign was notified last week that both Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, were among several individuals—both in government and outside—whose phone numbers were targeted through a breach of Verizon’s phone systems.

The FBI, along with the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, confirmed they are investigating this unauthorized access to telecommunications infrastructure linked to Chinese actors; however, the statement did not specifically mention the Trump campaign.

Further reports indicated that the Chinese hackers also targeted phones used by individuals connected to Kamala Harris’s campaign. It has now come to light that hackers successfully accessed audio from a call made by a Trump campaign adviser, alongside other unencrypted communications, such as text messages.

As of now, neither the Trump campaign nor the FBI has responded to requests for comment. It’s worth noting that the Trump campaign experienced a hacking incident earlier this year, which led to the U.S. Justice Department charging three members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps for their involvement in attempts to disrupt the upcoming elections.

Verizon stated on Friday that it is aware of this sophisticated attack targeting U.S. telecommunications and is currently cooperating with law enforcement. Additionally, Congress is looking into the matter, and earlier this month, U.S. lawmakers sought responses from AT&T, Verizon, and Lumen Technologies regarding reports that Chinese hackers accessed the networks of U.S. broadband providers.

The Chinese embassy in Washington, D.C., commented last week that it was unaware of the specific events but emphasized that China opposes and combats cyberattacks and cyber thefts in all forms.