The Federal Bureau of Investigation ( FBI ) on Wednesday that Iranian hackers attempted to interfere in the upcoming 2024 election by sending unsolicited emails to associates of President Joe Biden’s campaign. These emails contained excerpts from stolen materials belonging to former President Donald Trump’s campaign, aiming to entice Biden's team with the leaked information.
According to the FBI, there is no evidence that any recipients responded to these emails. Kamala Harris' campaign described the emails as “unwelcome and unacceptable malicious activity,” noting they were largely dismissed as spam or phishing attempts. Morgan Finkelstein, a spokesperson for Harris's campaign, stated, “We condemn in the strongest terms any effort by foreign actors to interfere in US elections.”
The emails were sent in late June and early July, prior to the Trump campaign publicly acknowledging the hack. The Trump campaign disclosed on August 10 that it had been breached and that Iranian actors had stolen and distributed sensitive internal documents. At least three news outlets—Politico, The New York Times, and The Washington Post—received confidential materials from the Trump campaign but have yet to disclose details about the content.
Politico reported that it began receiving emails on July 22 from an anonymous account identified only as “Robert.” This account provided what appeared to be a research dossier on Ohio Senator JD Vance, who was later selected as Trump's running mate. The document was dated February 23, nearly five months prior to the selection.
The FBI’s statement highlights ongoing Iranian efforts to disrupt US electoral processes and undermine public trust in democratic institutions. Intelligence officials noted that Iran opposes Trump's reelection, viewing him as more likely to escalate tensions between Washington and Tehran. Trump’s administration had previously ended a nuclear deal with Iran, reimposed sanctions, and ordered the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, prompting threats of retaliation from Iranian leaders.
The FBI informed Trump aides that information stolen by Iranian actors had been forwarded to Biden's campaign. Both Biden’s and Trump’s campaigns have reported implementing robust cybersecurity measures to safeguard against these threats.
At a recent Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, executives from Meta, Google, and Microsoft discussed their plans to secure the upcoming election and highlighted various cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns. Microsoft President Brad Smith warned, “The most perilous time I think will come 48 hours before the election.”
According to the FBI, there is no evidence that any recipients responded to these emails. Kamala Harris' campaign described the emails as “unwelcome and unacceptable malicious activity,” noting they were largely dismissed as spam or phishing attempts. Morgan Finkelstein, a spokesperson for Harris's campaign, stated, “We condemn in the strongest terms any effort by foreign actors to interfere in US elections.”
The emails were sent in late June and early July, prior to the Trump campaign publicly acknowledging the hack. The Trump campaign disclosed on August 10 that it had been breached and that Iranian actors had stolen and distributed sensitive internal documents. At least three news outlets—Politico, The New York Times, and The Washington Post—received confidential materials from the Trump campaign but have yet to disclose details about the content.
Politico reported that it began receiving emails on July 22 from an anonymous account identified only as “Robert.” This account provided what appeared to be a research dossier on Ohio Senator JD Vance, who was later selected as Trump's running mate. The document was dated February 23, nearly five months prior to the selection.
The FBI’s statement highlights ongoing Iranian efforts to disrupt US electoral processes and undermine public trust in democratic institutions. Intelligence officials noted that Iran opposes Trump's reelection, viewing him as more likely to escalate tensions between Washington and Tehran. Trump’s administration had previously ended a nuclear deal with Iran, reimposed sanctions, and ordered the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, prompting threats of retaliation from Iranian leaders.
The FBI informed Trump aides that information stolen by Iranian actors had been forwarded to Biden's campaign. Both Biden’s and Trump’s campaigns have reported implementing robust cybersecurity measures to safeguard against these threats.
At a recent Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, executives from Meta, Google, and Microsoft discussed their plans to secure the upcoming election and highlighted various cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns. Microsoft President Brad Smith warned, “The most perilous time I think will come 48 hours before the election.”
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