() -U.S. federal authorities are investigating an effort to impersonate White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The document indicated that Wiles informed colleagues about certain hacking incidents involving her cellphone contacts, which enabled the imposter to obtain personal telephone numbers.
According to the report, the incident impacted her personal mobile device rather than her official government-issued phone.
According to The Journal, in recent weeks, senators, governors, leading U.S. corporate leaders, and other prominent individuals have been contacted via messages and phone calls by someone claiming to be Wiles, according to those aware of these communications.
The White House and the FBI did not promptly reply to requests seeking their input.
The White House has faced challenges with information security. It was reported recently that a hacker infiltrated the communication system utilized by ex-Trump National Security Adviser Mike Waltz earlier this month, gaining access to messages sent by numerous U.S. officials.
Last December, a representative from the White House stated that the U.S. suspected China was behind a large-scale cyberespionage operation called Salt Typhoon. This initiative allegedly focused on intercepting and recording conversations involving highly prominent American political leaders.
(Reported by Costas Pitas; Edited by Michael Perry)
