U.S. intelligence confirms Iran hack of Trump campaign

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Monday confirmed that Iranian hackers tried to break into both presidential campaigns to sow discord in the United States. Microsoft earlier this month reported that Iranian hackers had broken into one presidential campaign. Former President Donald Trump’s campaign confirmed days later to Politico that nefarious actors compromised some of its digital accounts. Google later identified the Iranian group behind the attack as APT42. Iranian officials denied that their country was involved in the attacks, Iran’s state-run IRNA news group reported.

Are these sorts of attacks on campaigns normal? The FBI and the Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency cosigned the statement of the office, which coordinates between different American intelligence agencies. Iran persistently seeks to cause domestic disruption in the United States, the agencies said in a joint statement. Even so, Iran believes the results of the 2024 presidential election could profoundly affect its national security, the agencies said. Tehran has sponsored more cyberattacks in recent months, the agencies added.

What are federal authorities doing about this attack? The FBI is investigating the cyber attack on Trump’s campaign, the agencies said. They added that protecting U.S. election integrity is their top priority. The agencies work with private sector actors to ensure election security, they said.

Dig deeper: Read my report in The Sift about smugglers ferrying Iranian weapons to Yemen’s Houthi rebels are facing charges of supporting Iran’s nuclear program as well.