Hackers tied to China's government have tried repeatedly to access the phones of prominent Americans, part of Beijing's sprawling cyberespionage efforts
Cybersecurity investigators noticed a highly unusual software crash — it was affecting a small number of smartphones belonging to people who worked in government, politics, tech and journalism.
The crashes, which began late last year and carried into 2025, were the tipoff to a sophisticated cyberattack that may have allowed hackers to infiltrate a phone without a single click from the user.
The attackers left no clues about their identities, but investigators at the cybersecurity firm iVerify noticed that the victims all had something in common: They worked in fields of interest to China's government and had been targeted by Chinese hackers in the past.

Chinese hackers and user lapses turn smartphones into a 'mobile security crisis'
Hackers tied to China's government have tried repeatedly to access the phones of prominent Americans, part of Beijing's sprawling cyberespionage efforts