The FBI has warned the Harris campaign that it was targeted by a “foreign actor influence operation.” In a statement from the Vice President’s team, a spokesperson confirmed the FBI’s alert but declared that “robust cybersecurity measures” meant there were no breaches of the team’s cyber systems. “We remain in communication with appropriate law enforcement authorities,” the spokesperson added.
The news came just days after Donald Trump’s campaign reported hacking, which it blamed on Iran. The political news publication Politico reported that it was approached by an anonymous source offering to supply it with internal Trump campaign documentation that noted “potential vulnerabilities” surrounding Mr. Trump’s running mate, Senator JD Vance.
Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said the documents were obtained illegally by foreign sources hostile to the United States and attempting to interfere with the Presidential election. He added that Iran knows that a second Trump Presidency would put a stop to its “reign of terror, just like he did in his first four years in the White House.”
The former President addressed the alleged hacking on his Truth Social media account, saying efforts to obtain confidential campaign information were unsuccessful, and hackers had only managed to get hold of information already in the public domain.
Days later, the FBI confirmed it had opened an investigation into the Trump camp’s allegations. The feds added that they were also looking closely at attempts to infiltrate digital systems connected to the Vice President and President Joe Biden.
Investigations were also opened in June when Microsoft warned of phishing scams targeting both Presidential campaigns. The federal agency confirmed that three staff members from the Biden-Harris team were personally targeted.
Reassurances were swift, however, and the Vice President’s campaign said it was unaware of any successful attempts to breach its cybersecurity measures.
These are not the first instances of alleged foreign interference attempts in the run-up to Presidential elections. In 2019, the FBI revealed Russian efforts to hack Democratic Party officials. The US imposed sanctions on Russian hackers three years earlier for similar attempts.
