US FBI Investigates Hacking of Trump and Biden Campaigns... Suspected Iran

Investigation Launched in June... No Evidence of Success Found

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating allegations that Iran attempted to hack the Republican and Democratic presidential election campaigns, the Washington Post (WP) reported on the 12th (local time).

WP cited anonymous sources stating that three staff members of the Biden-Harris Democratic campaign received phishing emails. These hacking attempts were made before President Joe Biden announced he would not seek re-election and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. Investigators said they have not found evidence that the hacking attempts were successful.

The FBI is conducting the same investigation into former President Donald Trump's campaign. Earlier, some local media reported that the Trump campaign received a vice-presidential candidate vetting document from an anonymous source. In response, the Trump campaign stated on the 10th that they were hacked by a foreign hostile force to the U.S., implying that Iran was behind the incident. However, no concrete evidence was presented.

Earlier, Microsoft (MS) reported on the 9th that hackers linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) attempted email phishing targeting senior election campaign officials in June. At the time, MS did not specify which campaign was targeted, but speculation arose that the leak from the Trump campaign was the work of Iran.

It is reported that the Trump campaign did not notify the FBI when they first discovered the hacking. Sources explained that this was because the Trump campaign did not trust the FBI.

The FBI began investigating the hacking allegations against both parties' election campaigns in June and suspects that Iran is trying to steal information from both camps. However, it remains unclear whether Iran was responsible for sending internal Trump campaign materials to the media.

WP reported that at least one email was hacked through these phishing attempts. Although not a campaign official, Roger Stone, who has a long-standing friendship with former President Trump, was the victim. According to sources familiar with the matter, Stone's email was used to send emails to the Trump campaign, and if recipients clicked on links included in the emails, Iran could intercept other emails. Stone told WP, "I heard from authorities that several personal email accounts were hacked," adding, "I do not know the details but am cooperating with the investigation."

U.S. intelligence agencies have warned for months that hostile countries such as Iran and Russia are trying to influence the U.S. election. Meanwhile, the Iranian mission to the United Nations issued a statement denying any intention or motive by the Iranian government to interfere in the U.S. election.