Donald Trump's campaign publishes claims that Iranian operatives are targeting some of its internal communications. The claims are linked to an email sent to US news website Politico, revealing verified internal research on Trump's running mate, Senator JD Vance.
Trump's campaign team didn't send the email, as a spokesman for the team claims that "foreign sources hostile to the United States" unlawfully accessed the documents. However, the Iranian government has denied any links to the hack.
“We do not accord any credence to such reports,” says a spokesman for the Iranian government. "The Iranian Government neither possesses nor harbors any intent or motive to interfere in the United States presidential election.”
Microsoft Identifies Threat to Unnamed US Presidential Candidates
The said allegation of Iranian threat to internal communications in Trump's campaign team comes one day after Microsoft published a report that fraudulent individuals from Iran targeted the campaign of an unnamed US Presidential candidate earlier in the year. According to Microsoft's Threat Analysis Center (MTAC), the campaign received a delusive email to get the target to click on a fraudulent link.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Trump's campaign, Steven Cheung, said that the MTAC report closely coincides with the emergence of Sen JD Vance as the Republican Vice Presidential nominee. “The Iranians know that President Trump will stop their reign of terror,” Mr Cheung claims, as different countries weigh the implications of a Trump Presidency on their interests
Revelations that Iran hacks Trump's campaign come as no surprise to Microsoft. According to the MTAC report, Iranian attempts to break into US elections have been “a consistent feature of at least the last three US election cycles."
Microsoft similarly reported that Iranian hackers targeted presidential campaigns during the 2020 elections.
FBI Investigates Claims that Iran Hacks Trump's Campaign
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reported on Monday that it is investigating allegations that hackers working with Iran's government are targeting Trump's campaign team.
Speaking about the incident, the agency announced in a brief statement on Monday, “We can confirm the FBI is investigating the matter.” However, the statement neither mentioned Donald Trump nor Iran.
However, according to Trump's campaign team's representative, the hacker could only access information on Sen JD Vance previously available in the public domain.
Wrapping Up
Trump's campaign alleges that Iranian hackers targeted internal communications within the team as verified documents "illegally" reach US news media. The allegations come a day after Microsoft linked Iranian sources to cyber-attacks on an unnamed Presidential candidate. Meanwhile, the FBI claims it is investigating the claims, which Microsoft alleges mirrors a recurrent feature of the past three election cycles.