CyberScoop reports that Iranian threat actors were noted by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the FBI to have sent emails with non-public details stolen from the campaign of former President Donald Trump to people part of the campaign of President Joe Biden before his withdrawal from the presidential race in early July.
There has been no evidence that individuals with the Biden campaign responded to the unsolicited emails, according to the agencies, which noted that U.S. media organizations have also been provided with Trump campaign-related information by the hackers. "This malicious cyber activity is the latest example of Iran's multi-pronged approach, as noted in the joint August statement, to stoke discord and undermine confidence in our electoral process," said the agencies. Foreign influence operations ahead of the upcoming presidential election have been characterized by efforts of Iran and Russia against Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, respectively, said Microsoft President Brad Smith during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing. "...[I]t is an election where Russia, Iran and China are united with the common interest in discrediting democracy in the eyes of our own voters and even more so the eyes of the world," Smith said.
