According to U.S. investigators, Iranian hackers transferred sensitive information taken from the Trump campaign to President Joe Biden’s campaign earlier this summer.
The emails were sent in June and July to individuals connected to the Biden campaign and included excerpts from private materials belonging to the former president’s campaign, as reported by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the FBI, and CISA. The Iranian actors have also continued efforts to leak confidential Trump campaign information to media outlets since June.
Iran’s efforts to undermine the Trump campaign
This latest information highlights the various tactics Iran has used to undermine the Trump campaign and indicates that their attempts persist, even after U.S. officials identified their initial leak attempt in August.
It remains unclear how much the Biden campaign engaged with or utilized the information received from the Iranian hackers. The three agencies noted that the emails were unsolicited and that the campaign staff did not respond.
Morgan Finkelstein, a spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign, which took over from Biden’s, stated that they have been cooperating with the relevant law enforcement agencies since they learned of the information sent to Biden’s team. She emphasized that they were unaware of any material being directly sent to the campaign and suggested that a few individuals were targeted through their personal emails with what appeared to be a spam or phishing attempt. Finkelstein condemned any attempts by foreign actors to interfere in U.S. elections, describing the situation as unwelcome and unacceptable.
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Iranian interference in US elections
Karoline Leavitt, spokesperson for Trump’s campaign, asserted that this situation further demonstrates Iranian interference in the election, aimed at benefiting Kamala Harris and Joe Biden, as they believe President Trump would reinstate stringent sanctions and oppose their actions. She demanded that Biden and Harris clarify whether they utilized the hacked material provided by the Iranians and questioned what they knew regarding the situation.
During a rally in New York, Trump accused Iran of interfering in the election but expressed uncertainty about what specific materials the hackers had sent to his former opponent’s campaign. He remarked that while Iran had hacked his campaign, he was curious about the findings, though he suggested they were likely not significant.
The Trump campaign had previously fallen victim to a hack-and-leak operation, which was subsequently linked to Iran by federal authorities and private firms.
FBI been monitoring the activity
The agencies indicated that the FBI has been monitoring this activity, maintaining contact with the victims, and will continue its investigation to counter the responsible threat actors. They also highlighted that Iran, alongside Russia and China, is attempting to exploit divisions within U.S. society for its benefit, particularly during election periods, which they view as moments of vulnerability.
The Justice Department is reportedly preparing to file criminal charges related to these incidents.
At the Aspen Cyber Summit, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco underscored that Iran poses a significant threat to U.S. election security this year, noting their efforts to influence the presidential campaign through the dissemination of fake personas and propaganda, especially in light of the Gaza conflict, which they are using to exacerbate divisions. She emphasized that the U.S. is fully aware of the lengths to which Iran will go to impact the election.
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