Intelligence agencies and the FBI on Monday announced the conclusion reached in their investigation of attempts to hack US presidential campaigns: Iran did it. The agencies are "confident 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," they said in a statement, per the Washington Post. "Such activity, including thefts and disclosures, are intended to influence the US election process."
Staff members for the Trump and Biden-Harris campaigns received phishing emails that looked genuine but could give access to the recipients' communications. The targets included Susie Wiles, a top official on Donald Trump's campaign. The agencies said it's not clear whether Iran got any information this way. The FBI has briefed Trump on its findings, per CNN. Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign has said the hacking attempts against it failed. Google has said it also spotted Iran-backed cyberattacks against both campaigns.
Attacks like these aren't new, the agencies said, but Iran's government considers the November presidential election to be especially important to its interests and wants to affect the outcome. Iran and Russia have mounted similar efforts against the US and other countries before, they said, per the New York Times. More generally, the agencies said, "Iran seeks to stoke discord and undermine confidence in our democratic institutions." (More hacking stories.)
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