FBI investigating possible campaign hacking
Just months before the U.S. election, reporters allegedly received a dossier from Trump's campaign team about J.D. Vance. Are foreign actors behind it? The case is now with the FBI.
The FBI is investigating a possible hacking incident involving internal communication from the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's campaign team. The U.S. federal police confirmed this to matching media reports. According to the "New York Times," the FBI did not name the Republican but referred to media reports about a "cyberattack in the campaign." The "Washington Post" reported, citing sources familiar with the situation, that the agency is also investigating a possible hacking attack on the Democratic campaign team.
The news portal "Politico" first reported the case over the weekend. The editorial team received several emails from a sender named "Robert" containing internal campaign team communication. The "Washington Post" stated that it had been contacted in a similar manner. Trump's spokesman Steven Cheung told "Politico" that it was a hack.
Republicans blame Iran
A 271-page internal dossier on Trump's vice-presidential candidate J.D. Vance was allegedly leaked to U.S. media. Such dossiers are used in the U.S. election campaign, among other things, to better prepare for political attacks from the opposing side. According to "Politico," the Trump team blamed "hostile foreign actors" for the cyberattack, citing a threat analysis by Microsoft's Threat Analysis Center, which also mentioned alleged Iranian interference in the U.S. election campaign.
The report states that a group linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, the elite military force of the Islamic Republic, gained access to the account of a former high-ranking member of a campaign team and sent so-called spear-phishing emails from there. Microsoft identified no specific persons or parties in the report. The Trump team also provided no direct evidence to "Politico" of a hack by Iranian actors.
The "Washington Post" reported, citing sources familiar with the situation, that while the FBI suspects Iranian actors behind the cyberattacks, it is less clear whether the same groups sent the emails to U.S. journalists. The CNN broadcaster reported, citing an informed source, that the FBI had warned the team of U.S. President Joe Biden, who has since made room for Kamala Harris in the campaign, about the risk of possible Iranian cyberattacks in June. However, the FBI did not mention Iran in its official statement on the investigation.
The FBI has been investigating this matter since the allegations of a hacking incident, as the case was already handed over to them before the U.S. election. Despite Republican claims of Iranian involvement, the FBI has not named any specific groups or provided direct evidence linking Iranian actors to the hacking or email leak.
