American authorities indicated on Friday that they were investigating a cyberattack that they attribute to actors linked to China, with the American press claiming that the phones of Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance were targeted.
• Also read: US presidential election: Harris and Trump tied
• Also read: American presidential election: billionaire Jeff Bezos would have blocked the support of the “Washington Post” for Kamala Harris
• Also read: Ties to Putin? New controversy for Elon Musk, Trump’s ally
People linked to the campaign team of Democrat Kamala Harris were also targeted by this attempted intrusion, AFP learned from a source close to the matter.
“The US government is investigating unauthorized access to commercial telecommunications infrastructure by actors linked to the People’s Republic of China,” the Federal Police (FBI) and the Cybersecurity Agency said in a joint statement. and Infrastructure Security (CISA).
According to the New York Timesthe phones of former president and Republican candidate Donald Trump, as well as his running mate JD Vance, were targeted. They were warned this week of this attempt, according to the daily, which cited anonymous sources on Friday.
Investigators are still investigating whether or not the hackers managed to access the two men’s data and communications, according to the New York Times and the Washington Post.
The FBI declined to comment on the specific targets.
These revelations come less than two weeks before a presidential election which promises to be extremely close. Donald Trump and JD Vance both speak very harshly on China.
The computer attack was carried out, according to the daily, by the telephone operator Verizon.
“We are aware of reports that a highly capable state actor has targeted multiple U.S. telecommunications carriers in order to gather intelligence,” the company said in a statement. Verizon added “working to confirm, assess and remediate any possible impact.”
American justice indicted three suspected Iranian cyberhackers at the end of September, who allegedly acted on behalf of Tehran by attempting to carry out a computer attack against Donald Trump’s campaign team.
In 2016, a hack of Democratic Party emails – attributed to Russia – made internal exchanges public, including some about candidate Hillary Clinton.
