US intelligence agencies have accused Iran of launching cyber attacks on the presidential campaigns of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, as well as targeting US voters with influence operations in an attempt to exacerbate political division. This marks the first time the US government has assigned blame amid concerns about foreign interference in the upcoming election.
The FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency released a statement on Monday outlining the Iranian activity. They reported that Iran had engaged in influence operations targeting the American public and cyber operations targeting presidential campaigns. The Trump campaign had accused Iran of hacking one of its websites, but Trump downplayed it by stating that only publicly available information was accessed.
Iran has denied these allegations, calling them unsubstantiated and challenging the US to release evidence. The US intelligence community believes that Iranian operatives sought access to individuals with direct connections to the presidential campaigns of both parties to influence the election process.
These accusations come at a time of heightened tensions between the US and Iran and follow reports from Google that hackers backed by Iran were also targeting the Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns. The hacking allegations add to concerns about foreign interference, especially after the 2016 hack of Democratic National Committee emails, which was blamed on Russian military intelligence.
With the US election scheduled for November 5, the US government is on high alert for any interference from foreign actors. The agencies did not detail how they concluded that Iran was responsible for the hacking, but the statement highlights the ongoing threat of cyber attacks and influence operations on political campaigns.
Source
Photo credit www.aljazeera.com