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FBI Investigates Allegations of Cyber Intrusion Targeting Trump Campaign
On Monday, the FBI confirmed it is looking into claims that sensitive documents from Donald Trump’s presidential campaign may have been stolen in a cyber attack, which the campaign asserts was perpetrated by Iranian actors just days after they alleged the campaign was compromised.
The Bureau highlighted in a succinct statement, “We can confirm the FBI is investigating this matter.”
Sources familiar with the situation indicated that the Biden-Harris campaign may have also been a target in the suspected Iranian cyber breach currently under FBI scrutiny. These individuals requested anonymity as they are not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.
While the Trump campaign has not provided concrete evidence to support its allegations concerning Iran’s involvement, the claims coincided with a report from Microsoft, which outlined foreign efforts to interfere in the upcoming U.S. election. The report specifically noted an incident in June where an Iranian military intelligence unit attempted to conduct a “spear-phishing” operation aimed at a senior official within a presidential campaign, utilizing a compromised email account of a former advisor.
According to Politico, it began receiving emails on July 22 from an anonymous AOL account identified only as “Robert.” This source shared what appeared to be a research dossier on the Republican vice-presidential nominee, Ohio Senator JD Vance. The document was dated February 23, nearly five months before Trump officially selected Vance as his running mate.
The campaign for Vice President Harris issued a statement emphasizing their vigilant cybersecurity measures, claiming, “Our campaign vigilantly monitors and protects against cyber threats, and we are not aware of any security breaches of our systems.” However, they opted not to address whether they had detected any state-sponsored intrusion attempts.
When approached for comment about the Trump campaign’s allegations, Iran’s mission to the United Nations denied any involvement.
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Historically, Iran has been linked to various hacking operations targeting its perceived adversaries in the Middle East and beyond. The Iranian government has also made threats of retaliation against Trump for the 2020 drone strike that killed the prominent Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani.
According to Microsoft’s report, foreign interference in the upcoming 2024 U.S. elections has gradually intensified over the past six months, initially attributed to Russian activities but increasingly involving Iranian initiatives.
The analysis pointed out, “Iranian cyber-enabled influence operations have been a persistent element in the last three U.S. election cycles. These operations notably differ from Russian strategies by emerging later in the election season and being aimed more towards electoral conduct rather than directly influencing voter sentiment.”
Microsoft further concluded that the Iranian regime, alongside efforts from Russia, appears actively involved in the unfolding events surrounding the 2024 election.
Comparison to the 2016 Campaign Hack
Reports indicate that Politico is one of several news outlets, including the Washington Post and New York Times, that received leaked confidential materials from within the Trump campaign, such as the document vetting Vance. Each news organization has declined to disclose specific details regarding the information they received.
The decision to withhold this information is notably different from the 2016 presidential campaign when a Russian hack exposed emails from Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager, John Podesta. Wikileaks made these emails public, leading to widespread coverage from mainstream media.
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In that election cycle, the Trump campaign was eager to exploit any damaging information that arose.
“Russia, if you’re listening,” Trump famously remarked during a 2016 press conference while discussing the deleted personal emails of Clinton from her time as Secretary of State. He expressed hope that the missing emails would be uncovered and claimed the media would reward those efforts.
Fast forward to the current campaign, and the Trump campaign now alleges it has faced hacks originating from Iran.
Following these claims, Steven Cheung, communications director for the Trump campaign, stated, “Any media or news outlet reprinting documents or internal communications are doing the bidding of America’s enemies and doing exactly what they want.” The campaign has yet to respond to inquiries about any changes in their stance on hacking, including a request from The Associated Press made on Monday.
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