Russian cyber operatives shift focus to Harris campaign, Microsoft says

Zoom in: Starting in late August, a well-known Russian influence group, called Storm-1516, created and spread two fake videos online to discredit the Harris-Walz campaign, according to the Microsoft report.

• One claimed to show a group of alleged Harris supporters attacking an assumed Trump rally attendee. The second video featured an actor sharing false claims that Vice President Harris paralyzed a girl in a 2011 hit-and-run car accident.
• Both videos were spread through a website posing as a local San Francisco news outlet.
• A second Russian group, known as Storm-1679, has also pivoted its operations to focus on Harris after the conclusion of the 2024 Paris Olympics, Microsoft added.

The big picture: Disinformation campaigns and cyberattacks have already become a touchstone of the 2024 presidential race.

• Last month the U.S. government said that a spear-phishing attack targeting the Trump campaign had been the work of the Iranian government.
• And the Justice Department exposed a $10 million scheme earlier this month in which employees of a Russian state media network infiltrated a U.S. company to spread Russian propaganda.

State of play: Microsoft released the latest report a day before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on foreign threats to the 2024 presidential elections.

Flashback: Over the last three U.S. presidential races, Russia has pivoted its disinformation campaigns to solely target Democratic candidates, Microsoft notes.

• Russia initially struggled to pivot its disinformation playbook after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race in July, per the report.

What we're watching: Microsoft expects that Russia will ramp up its disinformation efforts even more in the last few weeks of the election campaign.

• Researchers say Russian political hackers could also be tapped to stoke "fear of electoral disruption just before or on Election Day."