 "The FBI is investigating the hacking of the Trump campaign. Image Credit: Pexels")
The FBI has launched an investigation following claims by Donald Trump’s presidential campaign that its internal communications were hacked, with fingers pointed at the Iranian government.
The former president announced on Saturday (August 10) that Microsoft had alerted his campaign to an Iranian cyberattack on one of its websites.
Trump downplayed the breach, stating that the hackers only accessed publicly available information.
The Trump campaign’s accusations follow a report released by Microsoft on Friday (August 9), which detailed attempts by hackers linked to the Iranian government to infiltrate the account of a “high-ranking official” within a US presidential campaign in June.
The report further revealed that the hackers had managed to compromise an account belonging to a former political adviser, which was then used to target the campaign official.
Despite these assertions, Iran has categorically denied any involvement in the alleged hacking.
Emails leak research on JD Vance
The revelation of the hack comes amid reports from major media outlets, including Politico, The Washington Post, and The New York Times, which have all claimed to have received files purportedly stolen from Trump’s campaign. Politico reported receiving emails from an anonymous source identifying themselves only as “Robert.” The leaked documents included a research dossier compiled on Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, which appears to be a preliminary version of Vance’s vetting file.
The 271-page dossier, drawn from publicly available information, highlighted various aspects of Vance’s past, including his previous criticisms of Trump, marked as “POTENTIAL VULNERABILITIES.” The anonymous source claimed to have obtained a range of documents, spanning from legal papers to internal campaign discussions, though the full extent of the data breach remains unclear.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsFBI broadens investigation to Biden-Harris campaign
The FBI’s investigation into the Trump campaign hack is part of a broader probe into alleged cyberattacks on other political campaigns, including that of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. The Washington Post reported on Monday (August 12) that advisers to the Biden-Harris campaign had also been targeted by hackers.
The extent of the breaches and their potential impact on the 2024 election remains a key point of concern, with cybersecurity and foreign interference once again at the forefront of the US political landscape.
With inputs from agencies