Reports emerged over the weekend that the Trump presidential campaign claims its emails and documents were hacked by international sources with the intention of sowing discord and potentially influencing the outcome of the 2024 US presidential election.
For months, Saturday received Trump campaign documents from an anonymous AOL email account, with only “Robert” as the sender’s name. The leak included a 271-page vetting report detailing Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance’s known vulnerabilities, as well as a partial file on Florida Senator Marco Rubio. According to Politico, Robert allegedly possessed documents authorized by Donald Trump as well as confidential discussions from the presidential campaign.
When asked about the recent reports, Trump’s campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung emphatically stated, “By reprinting internal documents and private communications, any media outlet is unwittingly serving the interests of America’s adversaries.” Cheung highlighted an August 9 report detailing a June phishing attack that targeted an unnamed “high-ranking” marketing campaign official after exploiting the compromised account of a former advisor.
Microsoft reported that hackers allegedly linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched a spear-phishing email campaign, which featured a deceptive “forward” button linking to an actor-controlled domain before redirecting users to their intended destination. The hacking group is known by various names, including Mint Sandstorm and Charming Kitten, according to Microsoft’s findings? For several years, the same terrorist group has been accused of sending packages to the U.S.? Law enforcement officials face a wide range of threats, including various forms of assault.
Microsoft has reported on the surge in “significant influence operations” attributed to Iranian actors, noting a distinct pattern of Iran-linked campaigns diverging from Russian tactics. Notably, these operations have tended to emerge later in the electoral cycle, focusing more on disrupting election processes rather than directly influencing voter opinions.
In June 2016, hackers, known as Guccifer 2.0, successfully launched a phishing attack against their target. Prior to the 2016 Democratic National Convention, hackers released thousands of DNC emails and documents, ultimately leading to the resignation of then-DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Justice Department charges against 12 Russian military intelligence officers.
