Iran tried to hand stolen Trump campaign data to Biden's campaign, agencies say

In an effort to sow discord and shape the outcome of the US elections, an Iranian malicious cyber actor tried multiple times to tempt US President Joe Biden’s campaign with non-public material stolen from former President Trump’s campaign, three US agencies said in a joint statement.

“There is currently no information indicating those recipients replied,” the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said in a statement.

Trump's campaign disclosed the breach in August, and Politico reported that it received emails containing stolen documents. A person identifying as “Robert” shared alleged internal communications, legal documents, and other materials.

The US intelligence community previously attributed the breach to Iran, saying that “the Iranians have through social engineering and other efforts sought access to individuals with direct access to the presidential campaigns of both political parties.”

Apparently, in late June and early July, before the breach was disclosed, Iranian malicious cyber actors sent unsolicited emails to individuals then associated with President Biden’s campaign.

The emails contained “an excerpt taken from stolen, non-public material from former President Trump’s campaign as text in the emails.” Intelligence agencies also confirmed the continued Iranian efforts to send stolen material to the US media organizations.

The agencies warn that Iran is using “a multi-pronged approach” to stoke discord and undermine confidence in the electoral process.

“Foreign actors are increasing their election influence activities as we approach November. In particular, Russia, Iran, and China are trying by some measure to exacerbate divisions in US society for their own benefit, and see election periods as moments of vulnerability,” the statement reads.

Trump’s campaign released a statement saying that Iranians “help Kamala Harris and Joe Biden because they know President Trump will restore his tough sanctions and stand against their reign of terror.”

“Kamala and Biden must come clean on whether they used the hacked material given to them by the Iranians to hurt President Trump. What did they know and when did they know it?” Karoline Leavitt, Trump Campaign National Press Secretary, said.

Morgan Finkelstein, spokesperson for the Harris-Walz campaign, which replaced Biden’s campaign, said in a statement that they are “not aware of any material being sent directly to the campaign.” The campaign has cooperated with law enforcement authorities “since we were made aware that individuals associated with the then-Biden campaign were among the intended victims of this foreign influence operation.”

The statement explains that a few individuals were targeted with what appeared to be a spam or phishing attempt.

“We condemn in the strongest terms any effort by foreign actors to interfere in US elections including this unwelcome and unacceptable malicious activity,” Finkelstein said.

According to a report by Microsoft, there are multiple Iranian threat groups that are trying to interfere with the US presidential election.

“Iran’s operations have been notable and distinguishable from Russian campaigns for appearing later in the election season and employing cyberattacks more geared toward election conduct than swaying voters,” Microsoft Threat Intelligence report said in August.

“Looking forward, we expect Iranian actors will employ cyberattacks against institutions and candidates while simultaneously intensifying their efforts to amplify existing divisive issues within the US, like racial tensions, economic disparities, and gender-related issues.”