Iranian cyber-actors sent emails over the summer to people involved in President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign with material stolen from Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign, as part of efforts to influence the Nov. 5 election, U.S. agencies reported Wednesday.
“Additionally, Iranian malicious cyber actors have continued their efforts since June to send stolen, non-public materials associated with former President Trump’s campaign to U.S. media organizations,” the FBI, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said in a joint statement.
The agencies did not provide further details on the nature of the stolen material.
Iran has previously denied interfering in US elections.
Iran’s permanent mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
In August, the United States accused Iran of launching cyber operations against the campaigns of the two US presidential candidates and targeting the American public with influence operations aimed at stoking political discord.
Malicious cyberattackers sent unsolicited emails to individuals within the Biden campaign in late June and early July that contained an excerpt of stolen Trump campaign material as text in the emails, according to Wednesday’s statement.
Biden dropped out of the White House race on July 21 and was subsequently replaced by Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee.
In a statement, the Trump campaign said Harris and Biden should disclose whether they used the material “to damage” President Trump.
“We are not aware of any materials being sent directly to the campaign,” a Harris campaign spokesperson said in a statement. “A few individuals were targeted in their personal emails with what appeared to be a spam or phishing attempt.”
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– 2024-09-20 08:04:05
