According to a New York Times report, hackers working for the Chinese government sought to access the devices through a previously reported compromise of Verizon.

Hackers believed to be working on behalf of the Chinese government sought to access devices belonging to Donald Trump and JD Vance, in connection with a previously reported compromise of Verizon, according to a New York Times report Friday.

The report indicated that the targeting of devices belonging to Trump, the former U.S. president and current Republican presidential nominee, and his running mate, Vance, is tied to a China-linked hacking campaign by a group tracked as Salt Typhoon.

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Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Verizon and AT&T were among the affected internet service providers in the Salt Typhoon hacking campaign.

The New York Times report Friday said it was not immediately clear what data belonging to Trump and Vance may have been compromised in the attacks, if any.

The previous WSJ report suggested that the Salt Typhoon hackers may have been targeting federally used wiretapping systems, presumably with the aim of accessing data that federal agencies had intercepted through court-approved surveillance.

The New York Times report, however, says investigators have “recently” concluded that the China-affiliated hackers had been targeting certain phone numbers, presumably including those belonging to Trump and Vance.

In a statement responding to the New York Times report Friday, a Verizon spokesman said that “we are aware that a highly sophisticated nation-state actor has reportedly targeted several U.S. telecommunications providers to gather intelligence.”

“Along with federal law enforcement, industry peers and third-party cyber experts, we have been and are working to confirm, assess and remediate any potential impact,” Verizon spokesman Rich Young said in the statement provided to CRN Friday. “Verizon is committed to assisting law enforcement in this investigation. Since this is an active investigation, we have no additional comment at this time.”

In a statement Friday, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung accused Trump’s opponent in the race for the White House, Vice President Kamala Harris, of enabling the targeting of the campaign by China.

In a joint statement released Friday, the FBI and CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) said that “the U.S. government is investigating the unauthorized access to commercial telecommunications infrastructure by actors affiliated with the People’s Republic of China.”

“After the FBI identified specific malicious activity targeting the sector, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) immediately notified affected companies, rendered technical assistance, and rapidly shared information to assist other potential victims,” the statement said. “The investigation is ongoing, and we encourage any organization that believes it might be a victim to engage its local FBI field office or CISA.”

According to the WSJ’s report in September, the Salt Typhoon cyberattack campaign had targeted ISPs in the U.S. “in recent months,” with the threat actors seeking to obtain sensitive data.

The group has been carrying out attacks since 2020 primarily focused on data theft and espionage, according to Microsoft research cited in the WSJ report earlier this month.