The investigators of cyber security found an extremely unusual software crash – it affected a small number of smartphones that belonged to people who worked in government, politics, technology and journalism.
The accidents that started at the end of last year and were worn in 2025 were the indication of a sophisticated cyber attack, which may have made hackers possible to infiltrate a telephone without a single click from the user.
The attackers did not leave any evidence of their identity, but the investigators of the cyber security company Iverify foundTargeted by Chinese hackersin the past.
Foreign hackers have increasingly identified smartphones, other mobile devices and the apps that they use as a weak connection in the US cyber defense. Groups associated with China’s military and intelligence serviceaimed at the smartphones of the prominent AmericansAndDressed deeply into telecommunications networksaccording to national security and technology experts.
It shows how endangered mobile devices and apps and the risk that security errors could uncover confidential information or leave American interests open, these experts say.
“The world is currently in a mobile security crisis” Google And now Chief Operations Officer at Iverify. “Nobody watches the phones.”
Us nulls in China as a threat and Beijing are made his own accusations
US authoritieswarned in Decemberan extensive Chinese hacking campaign that is supposed to access the texts and telephone calls of an unknown number of Americans.
“You were able to call and read text messages in real time,” said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi from Illinois. He is a member of the House Intelligence Committee and the Senior Democrat on the Committee for the China Communist Party, which was founded to investigate the geopolitical threat to China.
Chinese hacker tooApproached access to telephonesIs used by Donald Trump and Running Mate JD Vance during the 2024 campaign.
The Chinese government hasRefusal allegations of cyberspionageand accused the United States of theIncrease your own cyber operations. It is said that America names national security as an excuse forProvide sanctionsAgainst Chinese organizations and persevere Chinese technology companies from the global market.
“The United States has long used all kinds of detention methods to steal the secrets of other countries”CIA urges to recruit Chinese informants.
US secretary officers said China was an important, persistent threat to the United States’ economic and political interests and used the instruments of the digital conflict:Online propagandaAnddisinformationArtificial intelligence and cyber monitoring andespionageDeveloped to a significant advantage inevery military conflict.
Mobile phone networks are an important problem. The United States and many of its closest allies have banned Chinese telecommunications companies from their networks. Other countries, including Germany, arePhase of Chinese participationFor safety reasons. However, the Chinese technology companies remain a large part of the systems in many countries and give state -controlled companies a global footprint that they could take advantage of for cyber attacks, say experts.
Chinese telecommunications companies still maintain some routing and cloud storage systems in the USA – a growing problem for the legislator.
“The American people deserve to know whether Beijing tacitly uses state companies to infiltrate our critical infrastructure,” US representative John Moolsaar, R-Mich. and chairman of the China Committee, who issued lectures on Chinese telecommunications companies in April, who were looking for information about their US business.
Mobile devices have become an Intel Treasure Fusion
Mobile devices can buy shares, start drones and carry out power plants. Their distribution has often exceeded their security.
The telephones of top government officials are particularly valuable and includedSensitive government informationPasswords and the insight into the political discussions and decisions of an insider.
The White House said that last weekSomeone who runs Susie WilesTrump’s chief of staff turned to governors, senators and managing directors with texts and telephone calls.
It is unclear how the person Wiles has received connections, but apparently received access to the contacts in your personal cell phone, the Wall Street Journal reported. The news and calls did not come from Wiles’ number, the newspaper reported.
While most smartphones and tablets are with robust security, apps and equippedConnected devicesThis protection or the regular software updates that are required are often missing to be ahead of new threats. This makes every fitness tracker, baby player or smart appliance anotherpotential supportFor hackers who penetrate networks, call up information or want to infect systems with malware.
Federal civil servants launched a program this year that created a “cyber -trust brand” for networked devices that correspond to the federal security standards. But consumers and civil servants should not reduce their guard, said Snehall Antani, former Chief Technology Officer of the Pentagon’s joint special operating command.
“You will find backdoors in Barbie Dolls,” said Antani, now CEO of Horizon3.ai, a cybersecurity company, and referred to concerns from researchers who have successfully hacked the microphone of a digitally associated version of the toy.
Risks arise if smartphone users do not take precautionary measures
It does not matter how safe a mobile device is if the user does not follow any basic safety precautions, especially if his device contains classified or sensitive information, explains experts.
Mike Waltz, who leftAs Trump’s national security advisor, the Atlantic editor-in-chief accidentally added to a signal chat with which military plans were discussed with other top officials.
Defense Minister Pete Hegseth had oneInternet connection that the safety protocol of the Pentagon has bypassedset up in his office so that he couldUse the Signal Messaging appThe AP reported on a PC.
Hegseth rejected claimsThat he shared classified information about Signal, a popular encrypted messaging app that was not permitted for the use of communicating classified information.
China and other nations will try to use such mistakes, and national security officers have to take measures to prevent them from being repeated, said Michael Williams, a national security expert at Syracuse University.
“They all have access to a variety of safe communication platforms,” said Williams. “We just can’t prove things.”
This story was originally on Fortune.com
