Chinese hackers reportedly breached Verizon’s system, targeting phones associated with the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, a source disclosed on Friday. Media reports suggest Republican candidate Donald Trump and his running mate, JD Vance, were also targets, though Reuters could not verify this information.
The New York Times reported that investigators are assessing what, if any, communications were accessed from Trump and Vance. The Trump campaign was informed this week that their phone numbers were among those potentially targeted through the Verizon infiltration, though the campaign hasn’t confirmed the targeting.
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Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung alleged that Vice President Harris has empowered nations like China and Iran to interfere in US infrastructure to block Trump’s return to office. The Chinese embassy in Washington denied any involvement, stating China opposes cyber-attacks and would not interfere in US elections.
The Harris campaign has yet to comment on the situation.
This breach follows a prior hacking incident affecting the Trump campaign, which led to charges by the US Justice Department against Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps members, accusing them of attempting to disrupt the upcoming election.
In response, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency announced they are investigating unauthorized access to commercial telecom systems linked to Chinese actors. Verizon has acknowledged the incident, describing it as a “sophisticated attempt” and is cooperating with law enforcement.
