Chinese hackers reportedly attempted to breach the cell phones of former President Donald Trump and GOP vice-presidential nominee Senator JD Vance through vulnerabilities in the US telecommunications network. This startling discovery surfaced just 11 days before the upcoming US election.

The attackers executed a high-level hacking operation targeting Verizon, which may have exposed data or messages related to Trump, 78, and Vance, 40. The New York Times initially broke the story.

Trump and Vance were alerted to the breach only this week, but the extent of the communications accessed — whether encrypted or not — remains unknown. It’s uncertain how much, if any, of the intercepted information remains in the hands of this foreign adversary.

Prominent congressional Democrats were also on China’s radar, and the campaign team of Vice President Kamala Harris may have been similarly compromised.

Earlier this year, cybersecurity officials pinpointed the specific phone numbers involved after discovering that Salt Typhoon, a China-aligned hacking group, had penetrated US telecommunications networks.

The cyberattack on the infrastructure of US broadband providers, such as Verizon, AT&T, and Lumen, may have also granted access to data these providers are required to share with federal authorities under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). The Wall Street Journal reported this potential vulnerability in September.

US intelligence believes Beijing’s espionage services are behind the cyber intrusion, which reportedly aimed to monitor federal agencies and even attempted to breach the devices of journalists.

In a joint statement issued Friday, the FBI and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) confirmed “unauthorized access to commercial telecommunications infrastructure by actors affiliated with the People’s Republic of China.”

An investigation has been launched, with both agencies announcing their commitment to “aggressively mitigate this threat.”

A representative from Verizon also acknowledged the foreign intelligence activity, stating the company is “working to confirm, assess and remediate any potential impact.”

This follows news that earlier in the year, three Iranian paramilitary agents hacked members of Trump’s team, passing sensitive information to President Biden’s re-election campaign. A Justice Department indictment on September 26 outlined that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) hackers targeted Trump campaign personnel, government officials, journalists, and others using phishing emails to access data from those who clicked links.

The material reportedly contained a dossier on Vance and details intended to prepare Biden for his June 27 debate against Trump.

One email sent to presumed Biden-Harris campaign members on the debate day read, “As you must know that the first debate is [Biden]’s ‘last chance,’ and if he loses the debate, you [Democrats] will have to replace [Biden] with another candidates.”

Iran’s interest in Trump and his allies began shortly after the January 2020 US airstrike that killed IRGC Commander Qassem Soleimani. Since then, reports indicate Tehran has allegedly considered retaliatory attacks, possibly through a drone strike or hiring hitmen on US soil.

The US intelligence community has previously indicated that China, Iran, and Russia are actively attempting to influence the 2024 election.

According to an October 16 memo from the National Intelligence Council, all three nations have the capability “to access some US election-related networks and systems.”

Tehran’s support reportedly shifted from Biden to Harris once he exited the race, as noted by intelligence officials.

Officials suggest that China’s interest isn’t in boosting Trump or Harris specifically but rather in manipulating the outcome of congressional elections.

“This is the continuation of election interference by Kamala Harris and Democrats who will stop at nothing, including emboldening China and Iran attacking critical American infrastructure, to prevent President Trump from returning to the White House,” stated Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung. “Their dangerous and violent rhetoric has given permission to those who wish to harm President Trump.

“They have now stood by and allowed major foreign adversaries to attack us in order to illegally help Kamala because they know she represents a weak American who will always bow down. Whereas, President Trump will actually stand up against our enemies and defend the United States from any and all aggression.”

{Matzav.com}