Chinese hackers collected audio from unnamed Trump campaign adviser: Report

WASHINGTON – Chinese state-affiliated hackers intercepted audio from the phone calls of US political figures, including an unnamed campaign adviser of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, the Washington Post reported on Oct 27.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said on Oct 25 that they were investigating unauthorised access to commercial telecommunications infrastructure by people associated with China.

Trump’s campaign and the FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It was also reported that the hackers were able to access unencrypted communications, such as text messages, of the individual.

Reuters reported on Oct 25 that Chinese hackers also targeted phones used by people affiliated with the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

Trump and running mate J.D. Vance were targeted, various media outlets reported last week.

The Trump campaign was made aware last week that the former president and Mr Vance were among a number of people inside and outside of government whose phone numbers were targeted through the infiltration of Verizon phone systems, the New York Times reported on Oct 25.

The Trump campaign was hacked earlier in 2024. The US Justice Department charged three members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps with the hack, accusing them of trying to disrupt the Nov 5 election.

Verizon said on Oct 25 that it was aware of a sophisticated attempt to target US telecoms and gather intelligence and is working with law enforcement.

Congress is also investigating and earlier in October, US lawmakers asked AT&T, Verizon and Lumen Technologies to answer questions about reports Chinese hackers accessed the networks of US broadband providers.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington said last week that it was unaware of the specific situation but said China opposes and combats cyber attacks and cyberthefts in all forms. REUTERS