A broad Chinese hacking campaign against U.S. telecommunication networks targeted the phones of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, two sources familiar with the matter say. Another source told NBC News that people affiliated with the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris were also targeted.
None of the three sources clarified whether campaign devices were successfully compromised or whether China stole their communications. It is unclear who in the Harris campaign was targeted or if others in the Trump campaign were targeted in addition to Trump and Vance.
In a joint statement, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said the federal government “is investigating the unauthorized access to commercial telecommunications infrastructure by actors affiliated with the People’s Republic of China.”
“After the FBI identified specific malicious activity targeting the sector, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) immediately notified affected companies, rendered technical assistance, and rapidly shared information to assist other potential victims,” the statement said.
The FBI declined to speak about specific people targeted by the campaign.
The U.S. government recently concluded that China has hacked three American telecommunications companies: AT&T, Verizon, and Lumen Technologies. Lumen declined to comment. AT&T didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Rich Young, a spokesperson for Verizon, told NBC News, “We are aware that a highly sophisticated nation-state actor has reportedly targeted several U.S. telecommunications providers to gather intelligence.”
“Along with federal law enforcement, industry peers and third-party cyber experts, we have been and are working to confirm, assess and remediate any potential impact,” Young said.
No U.S. official NBC News has spoken to so far has suggested this is part of a “hack-and-leak” operation or any effort to affect the 2024 U.S. election.
A spokesperson for China’s embassy in Washington, D.C., said in an emailed statement to NBC News that they “are not aware of the specific situation” and could not comment on it.
“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 spokesperson said.
It's not clear that the hack was an attempt to influence the presidential election. China has a robust cyberespionage operation and has a long history of bold operations to spy on U.S. businesses and government figures.
The current presidential election has been marked by detailed U.S. accusations that both Iran and Russia have launched operations to sway voters in favor of Harris and Trump, their respective preferred presidential candidates. Iran has generally denied such operations, whereas Russian state media has offered a trolling admission.
By contrast, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has repeatedly said that while China seeks to undermine U.S. society in general and the democratic process in particular, as well as to harm congressional candidates it dislikes, it does not seek to influence the 2024 presidential race. ODNI did not immediately respond to a request for comment about whether it still held that assessment in light of China allegedly targeting both campaigns’ phones.
