FBI probe into Chinese hacking finds ‘broad and significant’ espionage campaign

The FBI on Wednesday announced that its investigation into the Chinese government's attempts to hack U.S. telecommunications networks found a “broad and significant” espionage campaign that targets Americans who work in politics.

China has rejected allegations that its government has been spying on Americans, but the FBI announced in September that it had disrupted a Chinese operation that installed malicious software on more than 200,000 U.S. devices. 

Chinese hackers also allegedly targeted the phones of President-elect Donald Trump, Vice President-elect JD Vance, and Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign last month.

The FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said hackers affiliated with Beijing have requested customer call records for “a limited number of individuals,” in hopes of stealing technological and government information.

The announcement did not name specific targets, but said they were "primarily involved in government or political activity."

"We expect our understanding of these compromises to grow as the investigation continues," the agencies continued. "The [FBI and CISA] continue to render technical assistance, rapidly share information to assist other potential victims, and work to strengthen cyber defenses across the commercial communications sector. 

"We encourage any organization that believes it might be a victim to engage its local FBI Field Office or CISA," it added.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.