FBI launches investigation after Donald Trump campaign hack leads to leak of internal documents
The campaign of former President Donald Trump, who is seeking reelection in the 2024 US presidential election, announced on August 10, 2024 that it had been attacked by Iranian hackers and that internal communications had been leaked. In response, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced on August 12, 2024 that it had launched an investigation into the hacking activity.
Trump campaign confirms it was hacked after POLITICO received internal documents from 'Robert' - POLITICO
FBI probing Trump campaign hack that also includes attempt on Biden-Harris campaign - POLITICO
Iran Targeting 2024 US Election - Microsoft On the Issues
https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2024/08/08/iran-targeting-2024-us-election/
FBI investigating after Trump campaign says it was hacked
https://thehill.com/homenews/4824760-fbi-investigating-after-trump-campaign-says-it-was-hacked/
According to the foreign media Politico, an anonymous person calling himself 'Robert' sent emails regarding internal information about the Trump campaign from around July 2024. The information also included information about the 'potential vulnerability' of vice presidential candidate Senator J.D. Vance .
According to sources, the 271-page internal documents sent to Politico are authentic, and a person who goes by the name 'Robert' said, 'We have access to a variety of documents, from court documents against Trump to internal discussions within his campaign team.'
'These documents were obtained illegally from foreign sources hostile to the United States and are intended to disrupt the 2024 US presidential election and disrupt our entire democratic process,' Trump campaign spokesman Steven Chang said. In addition, based on a Microsoft report (PDF file) that a hacker group associated with the Iranian government attempted to hack into the account of a senior member of a US presidential candidate's campaign in June 2024, 'Iranian hackers sent spear phishing emails to senior members of the presidential campaign,' he said.
According to Microsoft, some groups opposed to Trump, supported by the Iranian government, have launched news sites that insult Trump and lower his approval rating, as well as engaged in extremist activities such as threatening politicians and inciting violence, in an attempt to weaken authorities. It is believed that some of these extremist groups are involved in the hacking of the Trump campaign.
However, the Trump campaign has not investigated the identities or motives of the hackers, nor has it presented any direct evidence that identifies them as Iranian.
Following a report from the Trump campaign, the FBI reported that it had launched an investigation on August 12, 2024. In addition to the hacking of the Trump campaign, the FBI is also investigating suspected hacking of the Democratic campaigns of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
The Biden and Harris campaigns were found to have been subject to similar spear phishing attacks as the Trump campaign, but no evidence of hacking has been found so far. A Harris representative said, 'We have not seen any security breaches in our systems.'
'The FBI's investigation responds to concerns we have raised for some time now that Iranian cyber actors are attempting to influence elections around the world, including in the United States,' said John Kirby, US national security adviser. 'The Iranian government has long sought to undermine American democracy.'
Meanwhile, the Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned the FBI's series of actions as 'malicious.'
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in Security, Posted by log1r_ut