The 2024 U.S. Presidential election campaign of Donald Trump has reportedly been targeted in a cyberattack, with the campaign suggesting that Iran may be responsible for the breach.
This claim raises concerns about foreign interference in the upcoming election, especially given the tense relationship between the United States and Iran.
Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, pointed to a Microsoft report that links Iranian hackers to a cyberattack in June 2024.
While the report doesn’t name which campaign was targeted, the Trump team believes they were the ones affected. This has caused worry about how secure the election process really is.
Moreover, POLITICO news outlet reported that it began receiving emails from an anonymous source in late July, containing what seemed to be internal documents from the Trump campaign.
The leaked documents included a research file on JD Vance, the Democratic Vice Presidential candidate, and another on Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who might also run for Vice President.
Two sources with knowledge of the campaign’s internal communications confirmed the authenticity of the documents.
Although the full impact of the hack is still unknown, this security breach represents a significant challenge for the Trump campaign. This incident comes after a U.S. intelligence report suggested that Iran has been planning against Trump, possibly as a response to his 2020 order to kill Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani.
The Trump campaign’s accusations against Iran bring back memories of the 2016 Presidential Election when the Democratic Party also faced a cyberattack, which was blamed on Russia.