US intelligence says Iran responsible for hacking Trump's presidential campaign
What's the story
US security agencies have implicated Iran in a recent cyberattack on Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have all confirmed this allegation.
They believe that Tehran's motive behind this attack was to influence the upcoming US election.
Rising concerns
US agencies observe escalating Iranian activity
The security agencies have noted an escalation in Iran's activities during this election cycle.
"We have observed increasingly aggressive Iranian activity during this election cycle, specifically involving influence operations targeting the American public and cyber operations targeting presidential campaigns," they stated.
This includes the recent activities that compromised Trump's campaign, which the intelligence community attributes to Iran.
Influence strategies
Iran's alleged tactics to influence US elections
The intelligence community is confident that Iranians have used social engineering and other methods to gain access to individuals, closely associated with both political parties' presidential campaigns.
"Such activity, including thefts and disclosures, are intended to influence the US election process," they stated.
This assertion underscores the perceived threat of foreign interference in US politics.
Campaign breach
Trump's campaign said it was hacked earlier this month
On August 10, Trump's campaign confirmed a cyberattack and attributed it to "foreign sources."
The hackers were accused of distributing internal communications and a dossier on running mate JD Vance.
"These documents were obtained illegally from foreign sources hostile to the United States, intended to interfere with the 2024 election and sow chaos throughout our Democratic process," said Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump's campaign.
Trump's campaign said it was sent a spear-phishing email.