The FBI has initiated an investigation into allegations that sensitive documents from the Trump Campaign were stolen in a cyber attack. “We can confirm the FBI is investigating this matter,” said the FBI in a brief statement.
This development follows the Trump Campaign’s assertion that it was hacked by Iran, AP reported.
While the campaign has not provided specific evidence to support its hacking claims, it cites a report from Microsoft about foreign agents’ attempts to interfere in the 2024 US election.
As per reports, a spear-phishing email was sent in June by an Iranian military unit to a high-ranking official of the presidential campaign from a compromised email account of a former senior advisor.
Microsoft’s report indicated that “foreign malign influence concerning the 2024 US election started off slowly but has steadily increased over the last six months, initially due to Russian operations, and more recently from Iranian activity.”
Further analysis in the report stated, “Iranian cyber-enabled influence operations have been a consistent feature of at least the last three US election cycles. Iran’s operations have been notable and distinguishable from Russian campaigns for appearing later in the election season and employing cyberattacks more geared toward election conduct than swaying voters.”
Concluding the report, Microsoft noted, “Recent activity suggests the Iranian regime—along with the Kremlin—may be equally engaged in Election 2024.”
Politico reported receiving emails starting July 22 from an unidentified AOL account under the name “Robert.” The emails contained what appeared to be a research dossier prepared by the campaign on Republican vice presidential nominee, Ohio Senator JD Vance. The dossier was dated February 23, nearly five months before Trump selected Vance as his running mate.
Reacting to the report, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung stated, “These documents were obtained illegally” and are “intended to interfere with the 2024 election and sow chaos throughout our democratic process.”
Iran’s delegation to the United Nations has denied involvement when questioned about the Trump campaign’s claims.
Despite this, there have been longstanding suspicions regarding Iran’s engagement in hacking operations aimed at its adversaries in the Middle East and other regions. Additionally, Tehran has consistently expressed its intention to seek revenge against Trump for the 2020 drone strike he authorized that resulted in the death of prominent Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani.