FBI Director Kash Patel’s organization reported the breach to Congress, as required by law. (Oliver Contreras – AFP / Getty Images; Charlie Neibergall – file / AP)
By Joe Saunders April 2, 2026 at 4:23pm
Not even the FBI is safe from Chinese hacking operations.
A computer security breach in the bureau’s Virgin Islands offices, first detected in February, has been reported to Congress as a “major incident” that could threaten national security, Politico reported Wednesday.
And it appears that the Beijing regime is behind it.
The @FBI has classified a China-linked cyber intrusion into its Virgin Islands systems as a “major incident.”
From cyber intrusions to exploitation of U.S. territories, the CCP continues to test America’s vulnerabilities.https://t.co/eLzYBBAGgU
— Select Committee on China (@ChinaSelect) April 2, 2026
As Fox News reported Thursday, it was unclear what information was accessed in the hack.
However, the FBI reported the breach in compliance with the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014, a law that requires specific committees in both Houses of Congress to be notified if a federal agency’s computer system is compromised to the point where national security is at risk.
“The determination suggests the hackers successfully compromised swathes of sensitive data stored directly on FBI systems, likely marking a major counterintelligence coup for China,” Politico reported.
“FISMA requires agencies to tell lawmakers within seven days about any digital intrusion it has determined is ‘likely to result in demonstrable harm’ to U.S. national security.”
A Politico report from March 6 noted that the hack was first detected Feb. 17.
It was considered the work of a “sophisticated” cyber operation, the news outlet reported, citing sources it did not identify.
It appeared to focus on bureau electronic surveillance data gathered from “pen register” and “trap and trace” operations.
According to the legal website Legalclarity, “pen register” operations collect information about a targeted device’s outgoing communications. “Trap and trace” collects information about incoming communications.
Neither method monitors the actual content of the communications, but records information about the devices involved — a telephone number that’s called by a targeted device or is the source of an incoming call, for instance.
The FBI’s notice to Congress said the hackers were able to gather the same information, according to Politico, as well as “personally identifiable information pertaining to subjects of FBI investigations.”
News of the China-based operation against the United States’ premier law enforcement agency comes as President Donald Trump prepares for a trip to China.
That trip was originally scheduled for March 31-April 2, but was postponed because of the U.S.-Israel attack on Iran, The Hill reported.
It is now scheduled for May 14-15, according to The Associated Press.
Joe has spent more than 30 years as a reporter, copy editor and metro desk editor in newsrooms in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Florida. He’s been with Liftable Media since 2015.
Joe has spent more than 30 years as a reporter, copy editor and metro editor in newsrooms in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Florida. He’s been with Liftable Media since 2015. Largely a product of Catholic schools, who discovered Ayn Rand in college, Joe is a lifelong newspaperman who learned enough about the trade to be skeptical of every word ever written. He was also lucky enough to have a job that didn’t need a printing press to do it.
Birthplace
Philadelphia
Nationality
American
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