U.S. says Iran sent Biden camp stolen Trump info in election interference bid
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An Iranian flag flies in front of the Azadi monument in Tehran, Iran. Photo: Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Iranian "malicious cyber actors" emailed associates of President Biden's re-election campaign with information "taken from stolen, non-public material from former President Trump's" campaign over the summer, U.S. investigators said Wednesday.
The big picture: The incidents that occurred before Biden suspended his campaign mark "the latest example of Iran's multipronged approach" to "stoke discord and undermine confidence" in the U.S. electoral process, per a joint statement from the FBI, CISA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI).
- "There is currently no information indicating those recipients" responded to these incidents in late June and early July, the agencies added.
- "Furthermore, Iranian malicious cyber actors have continued their efforts since June to send stolen, non-public material associated with former President Trump's campaign to U.S. media organizations."
Threat level: The warning follows an August Microsoft report warning that Iran-backed hackers targeted a high-ranking official at an unidentified U.S. presidential campaign in a June spear-phishing attack.
- Google researchers in a report that same month found Iran-backed hackers had targeted both the Trump and Biden campaigns in a phishing attack — underscoring that Iran is now the biggest nation-state threat to November's elections, per Axios cybersecurity reporter Sam Sabin.
What they're saying: Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in an emailed statement Wednesday that the federal investigation was "further proof the Iranians are actively interfering in the election to help Kamala Harris and Joe Biden because they know President Trump will restore his tough sanctions and stand against their reign of terror."
- Morgan Finkelstein, a spokesperson for Vice President Harris' campaign said in an emailed statement Wednesday that the Democratic presidential nominee's team had cooperated with law enforcement authorities since being made aware of the Iranian operation.
- "We're not aware of any material being sent directly to the campaign; a few individuals were targeted on their personal emails with what looked like a spam or phishing attempt," Finkelstein added.
- Iranian officials have denied interfering in U.S. elections and they did not immediately respond to the latest announcement from the U.S. government.
