US intelligence officials have publicly blamed Iran for hacking into Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, as well as attempting to hack into the campaign of Kamala Harris, according to a statement released by the FBI, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. The mission of Iran to the United Nations has denied the allegations, but the US intelligence community has expressed confidence in the attribution.
The FBI statement said that “we have observed increasingly aggressive Iranian activity during this election cycle, specifically involving influence operations targeting the American public and cyber operations targeting Presidential campaigns.” This assessment marks the first time that the US government has assigned blame for the recent hacks that have raised concerns about foreign election interference.
The US officials assert that the Iranian hacking campaign was based on an attempt to sow discord within American society, exploit divisions, and ultimately influence the outcome of the election in Iran’s favor. According to the FBI statement, Iran perceives certain American elections as “particularly consequential in terms of the impact they could have on its national security interests.”
US officials have been on high alert for foreign influence campaigns during recent election cycles. The United States previously witnessed foreign interference in the 2016 election when Russian military intelligence operatives hacked into the campaign of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and orchestrated the release of politically damaging emails through the website WikiLeaks.
US cybersecurity professionals have identified Iran as emerging as a significant threat to American elections in more recent times. In 2020, US intelligence officials believe that Iran carried out an influence campaign aimed at harming Donald Trump’s reelection bid, which they say was probably approved by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
At least three staffers in the Biden-Harris campaign were targeted with phishing emails, but investigators have uncovered no evidence the attempt was successful. Intelligence officials believe that Iran has attempted to gain access to individuals with direct access to the presidential campaigns of both major political parties.
Currently, tensions between Washington and Tehran are running high, with the US hoping to halt or limit a threatened retaliatory strike on Israel over the assassination of Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh in Iran. While Iran and Iran-backed Hezbollah have vowed to retaliate, they have yet to launch strikes.
US intelligence officials aim to address the threats posed by foreign countries by cyber-attacks and election interference to elections that are under the jurisdiction of the federal government. These kinds of activities are intended to influence the US election process, and intelligence officials want to ensure the electoral process remains fair and free.
