US government pins campaign hacks on Iran

The Biden administration formally blamed Iran on Monday for a flurry of hacking efforts launched this summer against the presidential campaigns of both major political parties.

In a statement, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the FBI said they are confident Iranian cyber operatives have “sought access to individuals with direct access to the presidential campaigns of both political parties.”

The agencies specifically called out hacks targeted at the Republican nominee, blaming Iran for “recently reported activities to compromise former President Trump’s campaign.” POLITICO first reported earlier this month that the Trump campaign said it had been hacked.

The statement from the three agencies largely confirmed reports from groups that track hacking operations. In the last two weeks, both Microsoft and Google have published reports asserting Iranian hackers sent spear-phishing emails — which seek to trick victims into clicking a malicious link — against individuals affiliated with at least one of the two campaigns.

The statement said that Iranian hacking activities, “including thefts and disclosures, are intended to influence the U.S. election process.”

Spokespeople for the ODNI, FBI and CISA declined to comment on whether this meant that the latest disclosures sent to media outlets regarding the Trump campaign were part of a targeted Iranian influence operation.

The FBI confirmed last week it had opened an investigation into the activity against the campaigns of Trump and the former Biden-Harris ticket back in June.

The leak of the campaign documents earlier this month ignited concern that Tehran could disrupt the 2024 presidential race much like Russia was accused of doing eight years ago.

The intelligence community has previously said the Iranians are seeking to undermine the candidacy of Donald Trump. And, the statement Monday confirmed Tehran was more aggressive than it has been in past years.

The intelligence community has “observed increasingly aggressive Iranian activity during this election cycle,” it read.