US intelligence agencies have determined that Iran was the cause of the latest breach that targeted Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
Iran decided to meddle in the US election, according to a joint statement from the FBI and other government agencies, “to stoke discord and undermine confidence in our democratic institutions”. The Trump campaign accused Iran of hacking its internal communications on August 10. Officials in Iran refuted it.
Iranian hackers may have also targeted Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris’s campaign, according to sources involved with the inquiry who spoke to CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.
“The [intelligence community] is confident that the Iranians have through social engineering and other efforts sought access to individuals with direct access to the Presidential campaigns of both political parties. Such activity, including thefts and disclosures, are intended to influence the US election process,” US intelligence officials said in the statement.
According to reports, the Trump campaign received a spear-phishing email, which poses as reputable in order to trick the recipient into clicking on a harmful link.
The Harris campaign revealed this week that, while the spear-phishing attempt was unsuccessful, it had also been launched against it.
The FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency were among the organizations that issued the statement on Monday. They stated that the tactics were “not new” and mentioned that Russia and Iran had used similar strategies during earlier US elections.
What data, if any, was taken during the attack is yet unknown. As per Trump, the hackers could only get material that was accessible to the general public.
