U.S. says Iran cyber operations targeted Trump, Harris campaigns
WASHINGTON, Aug 19 (Reuters) -The United States on Monday accused Iran of launching cyber operations against the campaigns of both U.S. presidential candidates and targeting the American public with influence operations aimed at fanning political discord.
"We have observed increasingly aggressive Iranian activity during this election cycle," said a statement by the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which oversees the defense of government computer systems.
The statement confirmed charges made earlier this month by the campaign of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump that Iran hacked one of its websites, triggering an FBI investigation.
At that time, Trump said Iran was "only able to get publicly available information."
Iran, the U.S. statement said, also has targeted the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris, who is to officially accept the Democratic Party's presidential nomination at this week's convention.
Iran's mission to the United Nations issued a statement calling the allegations "unsubstantiated and devoid of any standing. As we have previously announced, the Islamic Republic of Iran harbors neither the intention nor the motive to interfere with the U.S. presidential election."
The U.S. statement said Iran has conducted influence operations targeting the American public in a bid to fan political divisions and "cyber operations targeting presidential campaigns."
"This includes the recently reported activities to compromise former President Trump's campaign, which the IC (intelligence community) attributes to Iran," it continued.
It said the intelligence community is confident Iranian operatives using social engineering and other means "sought access to individuals with direct access to the presidential campaigns of both parties," the statement said.
Those activities included thefts and disclosures "intended to influence the U.S. election process," the statement added, without elaborating.
Reporting by Jonathan Landay; Editing by Lincoln Feast
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
