The US government has determined that the Iranian government was responsible for the hack and leak operation targeting Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. They also attempted to target the Biden-Harris campaign, according to the FBI and other US intelligence agencies. The investigation reveals that Iran and other countries are trying to influence the 2024 election. The hacking operation aimed to access campaign networks by breaching personal email accounts, including that of longtime Trump ally Roger Stone.
Iran’s aggressive attempts to meddle in the 2020 election have caught off-guard some US officials, with threats directed at election officials. The recent hacking operation involved suspected Iranian hackers breaching personal email accounts to gain access to internal Trump campaign documents. An AOL account using the pseudonymous name “Robert” leaked internal Trump campaign documents to media outlets. While attribution to the hack was straightforward, investigators were uncertain if the same group leaked the documents because they were not known for leaks.
US officials have found clear evidence linking the hacking operation to a notorious group associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The FBI has studied email records and spoken to Trump campaign personnel in an effort to identify the responsible parties for the hack and the leak. The profile of the person behind the AOL account suggested they were Iranian, as they spoke halting English and tried to pressure a reporter to publish more of the leaked documents. Additionally, the Iranian hackers have targeted the email accounts of current US officials and individuals associated with Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden.
The tactics used by Iran and Russia to influence elections are not new and have been employed in previous federal election cycles in the US and other countries around the world. While the element of surprise may be gone, Iran still appears willing to cause chaos during the election process, according to current and former US officials. The FBI has briefed Trump on the findings of their investigation, confirming Iran’s responsibility for the hacking operation. Trump publicly acknowledged the FBI’s investigation into the hack and indicated that it appeared to be linked to Iran.
The hackers, who breached Roger Stone’s email accounts as part of the operation, also attempted to access the account of a senior Trump campaign official. The leaked documents included internal Trump campaign files, such as a research file on Trump’s vice-presidential running mate. Investigators have been able to connect the digital infrastructure of the AOL account used to leak the documents to the same Iranian hacking group involved in the operation. The investigation is ongoing, with additional reporting expected to provide more details about the hack and leak operation.
