FBI investigates claims China tried to hack Donald Trump’s phone

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Joe Biden’s administration is investigating alleged Chinese efforts to hack US telecoms infrastructure amid reports hackers had targeted the phones of former president Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance.

The FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said they were investigating “unauthorised access to commercial telecommunications infrastructure by actors affiliated with the People’s Republic of China”.

The statement followed a report in the New York Times that Chinese hackers had accessed US telecoms networks and targeted data on Trump and Vance’s phones. The FBI declined to say if the hackers had targeted their phones.

Steven Cheung, Trump’s campaign spokesperson, blamed the alleged attack on Kamala Harris, the US vice-president and Democratic presidential nominee. But he declined to say if US authorities had informed the campaign about the hacking effort.

Cheung said: “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. Their dangerous and violent rhetoric has given permission to those who wish to harm president Trump.”

The development comes one month after the US justice department indicted members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp for allegedly hacking Trump’s presidential campaign. Tehran has rejected the allegations.

The New York Times said the hackers had targeted Trump and Vance, in addition to government officials and other targets, by penetrating Verizon’s phone networks. It said other targets may have included lawmakers and members of the Harris presidential campaign.

US government agencies have in recent months stepped up actions to prevent efforts by US adversaries, including Iran and Russia, to interfere in November’s presidential election.

The FBI and CISA on Friday said they had identified “specific malicious activity” targeting the telecoms sector and had notified companies. “The investigation is ongoing, and we encourage any organisation that believes it might be a victim to engage its local FBI field office or CISA,” they said.

The Chinese embassy in the US said it could not comment on the claims because it was “not aware” of the specific situation. But it accused the US of spreading “malicious” speculation and disinformation about China.

“The presidential elections are the United States’ domestic affairs,” said Liu Pengyu, the embassy spokesperson. “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.”