FBI investigates alleged hacking of campaign advisers’ emails

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating claims that the email addresses of some advisers working on presidential campaigns for the upcoming election have been hacked.

According to The Washington Post, the FBI confirmed it is looking into allegations that Iranian groups sent phishing emails to the advisers of candidates participating in the Nov. 5 U.S. elections.

The FBI’s statement said, “We can confirm that the FBI is investigating this matter.”

Sources familiar with the investigation, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Post that the FBI is examining claims that Iranian groups hacked the email accounts of advisers from the campaigns of Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris.

These sources noted that, to date, FBI officials have found no evidence that these attempts were successful.

Roger Stone, a former adviser to Trump, disclosed that officials had informed him that several of his email accounts had been compromised. “I don’t have any further details on this. I am cooperating; everything is extraordinary,” Stone said.

Microsoft’s report

A report published by Microsoft’s Threat Analysis Center on Aug. 9 stated that some Iranian groups have accelerated their cyber activities to influence the presidential election.

The report indicated that Iran is conducting “cyber-enabled influence operations” in the U.S. elections, with some Iranian groups sending phishing emails to government officials’ accounts.

It was noted in the report that a group linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard targeted a “high-level presidential campaign official” in June to collect sensitive information. The report also mentioned that an Iranian group created websites resembling U.S.-based news sites to target both political groups and “increase polarization.”

Iran’s U.N. Mission denied any interference in the U.S. presidential elections or involvement in cyberattacks.

Allegations against Trump campaign emails

On Aug. 11, Trump’s campaign team claimed that email addresses had been targeted, and Iran was alleged to be responsible for the attack on sensitive campaign documents.

Campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung argued that the attack was carried out by “foreign adversaries of the U.S.” and stated, “The documents were obtained illegally. Chaos is the goal.”

Cheung highlighted that a report cited in Politico mentioned, “Iranian attackers accessed the account of a senior American official.”