Apparently, the gang targeted phones that were used by members of Donald Trump’s family, as well as staffers to Joe Biden and diplomats.
“the unauthorized access to commercial telecommunications infrastructure by actors affiliated with the People’s Republic of China,” the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) revealed late last week that they were conducting an investigation into the said matter. It was reported at the same time by The New York Times that the phones used by Donald Trump, JD Vance, and Kamala Harris’ campaign staff were among the targets. However, it was not apparent what information the group may have been able to get from these phones after they were targeted.
As of right now, The New York Times has obtained fresh information regarding the scope of the attack, which is purportedly connected to a Chinese organization that goes by the name “Salt Typhoon.” In addition to ambassadors and other government officials, members of President Trump’s family and advisers to Vice President Joe Biden were also targeted, as reported by The Times. All of these individuals were targeted. Nevertheless, what is much more troubling is the possibility that the hackers were able to gain access to. According to the report:
In accordance with individuals who are acquainted with the inquiry, the Federal Bureau of inquiry (FBI) detectives believe that the hackers may have been able to access call logs as well as unencrypted SMS text messages on the smartphones that were targeted. They also stated that there was evidence indicating that audio communications were seized, however it was not immediately apparent if this phrase referred to talks that took place over the phone or over voice mail accounts.
A request for response was sent to CISA, but they did not immediately answer. In a statement that was released jointly with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) last week, the agency revealed that the investigation was “ongoing” and that the affected companies as well as other possible victims had been informed. According to The Washington Post, at least ten different service providers, including Verizon and AT&T, were affected by the incident. A representative from AT&T declined to comment on the matter. Despite the fact that Verizon did not immediately react to questions, the company had previously stated to The Times that it was “aware that a highly sophisticated nation-state actor has reportedly targeted several U.S. telecommunications providers to gather intelligence.”