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FBI investigating hacked mobile phones of Democratic officials

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has reportedly launched an investigation into the supposedly hacked mobile phones of Democratic Party officials. The attacks occurred as recently as the past month, Reuters reported, citing individuals with knowledge of the situation, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Last month, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) called on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to speed an investigation into the Signal System 7 (SS7) flaw. At the time, he wrote that “it is very possible nearly half of Congress already had voice and text data intercepted” as a result of the breach of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), during which mobile phone numbers of House Democrats were accessed.

Plixer director of IT and services Thomas Pore wrote in an email to SCMagazine.com that phones of political staffers contain real-time information sources such as GPS coordinates, microphones, and cameras for surveillance opportunities. “High-value targets need to exercise extreme caution and assume that hacking attempts and phishing messages will certainly find their way through layered security,” he wrote. “Hopefully, party officials see themselves as high-value targets”.

The FBI probe expands ongoing investigations by U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies into suspected involvement by Russian intelligence targeting U.S. political structures. Officials believe Russia has launched a campaign aimed at creating distrust in the presidential election process.

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