- FBI is investigating possible hacking attacks on Trump and Harris'teams.
The FBI is investigating a possible hacking incident involving internal communications of Donald Trump's presidential campaign. The U.S. federal police confirmed this upon request. The "Washington Post" reports, citing sources familiar with the situation, that the FBI is also investigating a possible hacking attack on the campaign team of the Democratic Party, the Republican presidential candidate's main rival.
According to the U.S. broadcaster NBC, the investigation includes hacking attacks on three employees of the Democratic campaign and Roger Stone, a former advisor to Trump. However, it is not clear whether the attacks on the Democratic campaign workers were successful. "Our campaign monitors cyber threats and protects against them, and we are not aware of any security breaches in our systems," NBC quoted a representative of the team of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.
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Trump team blames "hostile foreign" hackers
The news portal "Politico" first reported on the case over the weekend. According to that report, Trump's spokesman Steven Cheung spoke of a hack after the online portal received several emails from a sender named "Robert" containing internal communications of the campaign team. The "Washington Post" said it had been contacted in a similar manner. A 271-page internal dossier on Trump's vice-presidential candidate J.D. Vance was reportedly leaked to U.S. media. Such dossiers are used in the U.S. election campaign, among other things, to better prepare for political attacks by the opposing side.
According to "Politico", the Trump team blamed "hostile foreign actors" for the cyberattack and cited a threat analysis by the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center, which, among other things, alleges Iranian interference in the U.S. election campaign. In the report, it is stated that a group linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards – the elite military force of the Islamic Republic – had 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 did not provide direct evidence to "Politico" of a hack by Iranian actors. The "Washington Post" reported, citing sources familiar with the situation, that the FBI suspects Iranian actors behind the cyberattacks, but it is less clear whether the same groups also sent the emails to U.S. journalists. The CNN broadcaster reported, citing an informed source, that the federal police had informed 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. In its statement on the investigations, the FBI did not mention Iran.
The FBI is also looking into reports of hacking attacks on Roger Stone's email account, as he claimed his account had been compromised. The Trump team has accused "hostile foreign actors" of carrying out a cyberattack, with some sources suggesting Iranian involvement.
