- The United States alleges that Iran is responsible for hacking attacks on various election campaign teams.
American Intelligence Agencies Point Finger at Iran for Infiltrating Trump's Campaign Team's Private Communications
As per a joint announcement from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (Cisa), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. intelligence agencies have accused Iran of attempting to infiltrate the private communications of Donald Trump's Republican presidential campaign team. According to the statement, Iranian activities have been observed in this election cycle, with a significant focus on interfering with American public opinion and executing cyber attacks against presidential elections.
This allegation also includes the recent attempts to compromise Trump's campaign team, which have been linked to Iran. The FBI initiated an investigation into a potential hacking incident last week, involving Trump's campaign team. It was reported that a 271-page internal dossier on Donald Trump's vice-presidential candidate J.D. Vance was leaked to U.S. media outlets. Dossiers like these are typically used in U.S. election campaigns to prepare for political attacks from opposing sides, according to Trump's spokesperson. The campaign team of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris also announced that it had been the target of a foreign cyberattack.
U.S. Intelligence Agencies: Iran Seeks to Cause Confusion
The joint statement further indicated that Iran has attempted to gain access to individuals directly connected to the campaign teams of both Democrats and Republicans. The stated goal is to sow discord and undermine trust in U.S. democratic institutions. However, the Vance dossier was not explicitly mentioned in the statement.
The intelligence agencies warned that the U.S. presidential election on November 5 holds particular significance for Iran in terms of its national security interests, increasing its inclination to attempt influencing the outcome. They also noted that this approach is not novel, with Iran and Russia having employed this tactic in the U.S. and other countries during the current and previous election cycles.
Google Shares Similar Observations
Last week, security experts from Google reported that a hacker group affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guard had aimed to access the email accounts of campaign workers for the U.S. Democrats and the Republican candidate Trump. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard is the country's elite military force.
The FBI's investigation into a potential hacking incident last week involved Trump's campaign team, suggesting possible hacking activities.echoing the FBI's investigation, Google's security experts reported that a hacker group linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard had attempted to access the email accounts of campaign workers for both the U.S. Democrats and Republican candidate Trump, further highlighting concerns about hacking.
