U.S. intelligence officials have revealed that Iranian cyber actors hacked materials from former President Donald Trump’s campaign in June and early July and passed the information to the Biden-Harris campaign and various media outlets.

President Joe Biden joined Vice President Kamala Harris during the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago.

This alarming disclosure was made in a joint statement by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), underscoring a significant attempt by Iran to interfere in the 2024 election to favor Democrats.

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The agencies detailed how hackers, linked to Iran, sent emails to individuals associated with Biden’s campaign before he exited the race.

These emails contained portions of non-public information from Trump’s campaign, highlighting the targeted nature of the breach.

The FBI confirmed that Trump’s campaign team was informed of the hack within the last 48 hours and that the Biden-Harris campaign was among the recipients of this stolen data.

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According to a senior Trump campaign official, Iranian hackers had stolen sensitive documents from the Trump campaign and leaked them to news outlets, including Politico, The New York Times, and The Washington Post.

Each of these media outlets has refrained from disclosing what specific information they received.

Politico revealed it had begun receiving materials from an anonymous email account in July, with the documents appearing to be a research dossier prepared on Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate.

The Trump campaign’s national press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, condemned the incident, calling it “further proof the Iranians are actively interfering in the election” to help Vice President Kamala Harris.

Intelligence officials have indicated that Iran views Trump as a threat, citing his administration’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, the reimposition of sanctions, and the targeted killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in 2020 as key points of tension between the U.S. and Iran.

While the Biden-Harris campaign spokesperson, Morgan Finkelstein, stated that they were unaware of any materials being sent directly to the campaign, she confirmed that individuals associated with Biden’s team had been targeted with phishing attempts.

Finkelstein emphasized the campaign’s cooperation with law enforcement and condemned foreign interference in U.S. elections.

This cyber intrusion is just one example of broader foreign attempts to disrupt the 2024 election.

Intelligence officials and tech executives testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee this week, highlighting the ongoing cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns launched by foreign actors.

Executives from major companies such as Meta, Google, and Microsoft discussed their efforts to safeguard the election from foreign influence.

Microsoft President Brad Smith noted that the most perilous period for such interference could be in the 48 hours before the election.

This latest revelation adds a layer of complexity to the ongoing efforts to ensure election security and underscores the persistent threat posed by foreign adversaries like Iran in the U.S. electoral process.

X (formerly Twitter) exploded with reactions to the news:


Read the full press release from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA):

Joint ODNI, FBI, and CISA Statement

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released the following statement:

“Since the 19 August 2024 joint ODNI, FBI, and CISA public statement on Iranian Election Influence Efforts, the FBI has learned additional details about Iran’s efforts to sow discord and shape the outcome of U.S. elections.

Iranian malicious cyber actors in late June and early July sent unsolicited emails to individuals then associated with President Biden’s campaign that contained an excerpt taken from stolen, non-public material from former President Trump’s campaign as text in the emails. There is currently no information indicating those recipients replied. Furthermore, Iranian malicious cyber actors have continued their efforts since June to send stolen, non-public material associated with former President Trump’s campaign to U.S. media organizations.

This malicious cyber activity is the latest example of Iran’s multi-pronged approach, as noted in the joint August statement, to stoke discord and undermine confidence in our electoral process.  As the lead for threat response, the FBI has been tracking this activity, has been in contact with the victims, and will continue to investigate and gather information in order to pursue and disrupt the threat actors responsible. Foreign actors are increasing their election influence activities as we approach November. In particular, Russia, Iran, and China are trying by some measure to exacerbate divisions in U.S. society for their own benefit, and see election periods as moments of vulnerability. Efforts by these, or other foreign actors, to undermine our democratic institutions are a direct threat to the U.S. and will not be tolerated.

The FBI and CISA encourage campaigns and election infrastructure stakeholders to report information concerning suspicious or criminal activity to their local Election Crimes Coordinators via FBI field office (https://www.fbi.gov/fieldoffices), by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324), or online at https://www.ic3.gov.  Cyber incidents impacting election infrastructure can also be reported to CISA by calling 1-844-SAY-CISA (1-844-729-2472), emailing [email protected], or reporting online at https://www.cisa.gov/report.  Election infrastructure stakeholders and the public can find additional resources about how to protect against cyber and physical threats at CISA’s #PROTECT2024 (https://www.cisa.gov/topics/election-security/protect2024).”

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