The feds are investigating cyberspies linked to the Chinese government breaking into the infrastructure of US telecommunications companies, as reports suggest that Salt Typhoon — the same crew believed to be behind those hacks — also targeted phones belonging to people affiliated with the presidential candidate. Democratic US President Kamala Harris. , along with Republican candidate Donald Trump and his running mate, JD Vance.

On Friday, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said they “immediately notified affected companies, provided technical support and quickly shared information to help other potential victims.”

The alert from US government agencies does not name those companies affected, but according to previous news reports they include Verizon, AT&T and Lumen Technologies.

All three have so far declined to comment Register about the investigation as well as the allegations VIOLATIONS during which Salt Typhoon allegedly hacked broadband providers’ interception systems.

US lawmakers have since then he asked that the three firms answer questions about when they discovered Chinese spies on their networks and what they are doing to better secure their systems.

“The investigation is ongoing and we encourage any organization that believes they may be a victim to contact their local FBI or CISA office,” Friday’s security advisory continued. “Agencies across the U.S. government are working together to aggressively mitigate this threat and are coordinating with our industry partners to strengthen cyber defenses in the commercial communications sector.”

The probe by government agencies comes as US news outlets report that the group affiliated with the People’s Republic of China has also searched the phones of both US presidential candidates and other politicians.

According to The New York Times, Republican candidate and former US President Donald Trump, along with his Vice President-elect JD Vance, were both realized that Salt Typhoon had targeted their phones after infiltrating Verizon’s systems.

In addition, people associated with Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running on the Democratic presidential ticket, were also CONCERNED by the same group of hackers, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The Times reported that several prominent Democrats in Congress, including the staff of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York), are also among those whose devices may have been compromised.

It’s unclear what, if anything, the cybercriminals stole during the spying operations.

At this point in the investigation, Salt Typhoon is believed to have targeted or compromised at least several dozen companies and people.

“They’re mocking us,” a person involved in the response told the WSJ, adding that the hacking operation marked a “new frontier” in the Chinese government’s cyber activities against the US.

In addition, there is a serious increase in cyber attacks that both governments and private investigators have linked to the People’s Republic of China.

Last month, FBI Director Christopher Wray said that US law enforcement disrupted a 260,000-device botnet controlled by China’s Flax Typhoon.

On at least two occasions in the past year, most recently in August and then initially in February, a different gang of cyber spies, Volt Typhoonit was spotted crouching in America’s networks and critical infrastructure as you prepare”disruptive or destructive cyber attacks.”

For its part, China has repeatedly denied these allegations and claimed that the Volt Typhoon is a US invention and his allies. ®