Microsoft says Russia targeting Kamala Harris' presidential campaign

Technology giant Microsoft said on Tuesday that Russia operatives have targeted US presidential candidate Kamala Harris' campaign.

"In the past two months, Microsoft has observed a notable shift in Russian influence operations tactics reflecting the changing U.S. political environment," Microsoft Threat Analysis Center general manager Clint Watts wrote in a blog post from the company.

Microsoft had found Russia had pivoted towards the Harris campaign, with actors "disseminating fabricated videos designed to sow discord and spread disinformation" about her.

The focus on the Harris campaign reflected a "strategic move by Russian actors aimed at exploiting any perceived vulnerabilities in the new candidates," Watts said.

Harris replaced US President Joe Biden on the Democratic party ticket after the 81-year-old withdrew from the presidential race in July following a disastrous debate performance against Republican candidate Donald Trump.

"Initially, Russian influence operations struggled to evolve their efforts following President Biden's departure from the 2024 US presidential race," Watts said.

However, in late August and September, Microsoft observed two Russian groups, known as Storm-1516 and Storm-167, using videos designed to discredit Harris and stoke controversy around her campaign.

One video depicted an attack by alleged Harris supporters on a supposed Trump rally attendee, while another used an actor to fabricate false claims about Harris's involvement in a hit-and-run accident.

Another video depicted a fake billboard advancing false claims about Harris' policies.

"As we inch closer to the election, we should expect Russian actors to continue to use cyber proxies and hacktivist groups to amplify their messages through media websites and social channels geared to spread divisive political content, staged videos, and AI-enhanced propaganda," Microsoft said.

US intelligence agencies said in August that Iran was responsible for the hack of Trump's presidential campaign.

Microsoft said a Chinese-linked influence actor had also created videos that criticized the Biden administration and Harris campaign.

"Collectively, these three nation states — Iran, China and Russia — demonstrate the complexities of foreign interference that the US faces, and the need for the public to remain vigilant against these evolving threats," Microsoft said.

"As we've said before, our goal in releasing these reports is to promote education and protect institutions from any form of foreign interference."