FBI agents have taken possession of Senator Lindsey Graham’s phone following concerns of a security breach, the senator revealed during a recent discussion on artificial intelligence regulations at The Hill and Valley Forum.
Senator Graham (R-SC) reported that the issue occurred after he received a deceptive message from someone posing as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
“You know, my phone is in the hands of the FBI now,” Graham said during Wednesday’s panel discussion.
Graham recounted receiving a message he believed was from Senator Schumer, only to realize it was not. He stopped short of detailing the incident, reflecting on the vulnerability of digital creations to hacking.
“I get a message I think is from Schumer; it isn’t from Schumer, and next thing you know, my phones—I don’t know, anything you create apparently—can be hacked.”
Details about whether the security breach involved a phone call or a text message have not been disclosed by Graham’s office, The New York Post reported.
CNN reported:
A spokesperson for the Senate Sergeant at Arms, which investigates cyber threats to senators, did not respond to a request for comment.
Similar hacking attempts were reported on other Senate staff this week.
“Reports of a text-based phishing attack on Senate mobile devices are increasing,” states an email obtained by CNN that the Senate Sergeant at Arms sent Senate staffers on Monday. “The message impersonates a trusted source to start a conversation,” the Sergeant at Arms warned. The hacker then tries to get the target to install the Telegram messaging by clicking on a malicious link that “results in the device behaving abnormally,” the email states.
The incident with Graham, however, was on his personal phone, not a Senate device or Senate network, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the hacking attempt. Lawmakers and their staff face an array of cyber threats, from state-backed spies to cybercriminals.
One risk with hacking activity like what Graham experienced is that it is an attempt to gain broader access to targets in the Senate for future operations, the source said.
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