In an ironic echo of the 2016 US Presidential campaign, Donald Trump’s internal campaign communications have been leaked in a hack the campaign says was masterminded by Iranian operatives.
On Saturday Politico reported it had been emailed campaign documents from an anonymous source identifying themselves only as 'Robert', confirming the documents were authentic with two people familiar with the campaign’s internal communications – the masthead granted its informants anonymity in this case.
Included in the leaked files was a 271-page research dossier on Senator JD Vance, Trump’s selected vice president and running mate.
Potential vulnerabilities
The document listed past statements and actions taken by Vance, with some labelled 'Potential Vulnerabilities', including some criticisms he levelled at Trump himself in the past.
The leak also included files on Senator for Florida Marco Rubio, who was one of the front runners for Trump’s VP pick.
“These documents were obtained illegally from foreign sources hostile to the United States, intended to interfere with the 2024 election and sow chaos throughout our Democratic process,” Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said, declining to say whether the campaign had any evidence of Iran’s involvement.
“On Friday, a new report from Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) found that Iranian hackers broke into the account of a ‘high ranking official’ on the US presidential campaign in June 2024, which coincides with the close timing of President Trump’s selection of a vice-presidential nominee.”
Cyberattacks on the rise
While Microsoft highlighted a data breach last Friday, confirming a high-ranking official had been hacked back in June, there has been no confirmation of whether the victim was one of Trump’s staff.
“The US presidential election is an internal matter in which Iran does not interfere,” the Iranian mission to the UN in New York told Reuters.
The cyber landscape has become fraught in recent decades – Russian and Chinese interference in global elections is now an expected hazard and the cyber threat from Iran appears to also be ramping up.
"Iranian cyber-enabled influence operations have been a consistent feature of at least the last three US election cycles,” Microsoft’s report on the issue stated.
A report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) highlights a more than four-times increase in losses from cyberattacks since 2017, accounting for $2.5 billion in damages.
Last month, a US intelligence official highlighted that both Iran and Russia have remained consistent in their presidential preferences – Moscow is intent on tearing down the democratic party, while Tehran is interested in undermining the Republicans.
China appears to have a more general goal of sowing discord between Americans with no particular political goal in mind beyond the destabilisation of the US.
In an email to Reuters, a Chinese embassy spokesperson said China does not interfere in other country’s internal affairs, has “no intention and will not interfere in the US election” and hopes to avoid becoming the centre of election politicking.