Iranian hackers sent unsolicited emails containing stolen material from former President Donald Trump’s campaign to people associated with his Democratic rival, President Joe Biden. The FBI, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency condemned these efforts to undermine confidence in the electoral process. Iran was also accused of attempting to compromise both parties’ campaigns this year. The FBI is tracking Iranian hacker attempts to transmit nonpublic material to media organizations. Russia, Iran, and China are identified as countries trying to exacerbate societal divisions ahead of the November election. It was suggested by the Trump campaign that Iran may be trying to support Vice President Kamala Harris, who replaced Biden as the Democratic nominee. Harris’s campaign denied involvement in any illegal activities related to the stolen information. Federal law enforcement agencies have confirmed that individuals associated with the Biden campaign received phishing emails containing stolen material, but they did not respond or realize the content due to the emails appearing as spam. Google’s Threat Analysis Group previously reported an Iranian hacker group targeting both Trump and Biden-Harris campaigns. The Justice Department plans to file criminal charges related to the hacking of Trump’s campaign, although Iran has denied involvement. The Justice Department has previously indicted Iranians for election meddling during the 2020 election.
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