Unite States intelligence officials have reported that Iran was behind a hack targeting Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency jointly stated that they are confident the Iranians have sought access to individuals connected to the presidential campaigns of both political parties through social engineering and other means.
The intelligence community believes Iran’s efforts are aimed at influencing the US election process, including through thefts and disclosures of information. This assessment comes as part of ongoing efforts by US authorities to monitor and address foreign interference in the country’s elections.
Intelligence officials have warned that state actors like Iran and Russia continue to engage in activities intended to sow discord, manipulate public discourse, and undermine confidence in democratic institutions.
The latest announcement from US intelligence officials comes a week after several news outlets reported receiving internal records from the Trump campaign, including a dossier on Ohio senator JD Vance, Trump’s running mate.
Shortly after the initial reports, former president Trump blamed the Iranian government, stating that Microsoft had informed the campaign about the hack and that only publicly available information was taken.
Read more
Microsoft: Iranian hackers target US presidential campaign ahead of election
Separately, last week the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris revealed that the FBI had warned them of a foreign hacking attempt, which they claim their cybersecurity measures successfully thwarted.
According to the intelligence officials’ statement, Iran’s hacking efforts were part of a broader campaign to impact the 2024 US elections, as Tehran perceives this year’s elections to be particularly consequential for its national security interests. The intelligence community has observed increasingly aggressive Iranian activity during this election cycle, including influence operations targeting the American public and cyber operations targeting presidential campaigns.
The statement further clarifies that the FBI has been in contact with victims of the hacking and will continue to investigate and disrupt the responsible threat actors. The US government has made clear that it will not tolerate any foreign efforts to influence or interfere with American elections, including the targeting of political campaigns.
This issue of foreign interference in US elections is not new, as by the 2016 hacking of Hillary Clinton’s campaign, which led to the release of internal emails and became a major controversy in that presidential election. Russian intelligence officers were later indicted for that earlier incident.
