Harris Campaign Says it was Targeted by Hackers

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Facts

  • US Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign for president Tuesday said that it was informed by the FBI that it was the target of a 'foreign actor influence operation,' adding that it didn't seem to have suffered any 'security breaches.'[1]
  • The FBI said these efforts date back to before Pres. Joe Biden withdrew from the race. They come on the heels of former Pres. Donald Trump's campaign saying it was the victim of a suspected Iranian hack.[2]
  • Reportedly, three Biden-Harris campaign staffers received spear-phishing emails — fraudulent emails made to look legitimate to steal sensitive information. The FBI investigation into cybersecurity incidents with the Trump and Biden campaigns began in June.[3]
  • Several media outlets received alleged internal Trump campaign files from a hack over the weekend. A Microsoft report last week claimed an Iran-backed group has been behind efforts to access email accounts belonging to presidential campaign officials.[4][5]
  • In addition, the FBI and Microsoft informed Trump ally Roger Stone that his email account had been compromised, his lawyer said. The FBI said this was used as an intermediary to gain access to an account that belongs to a senior Trump campaign official.[6]
  • On Monday, the White House press secretary condemned foreign interference attempts and Iran's mission to the UN denied its involvement in election interference.[7][5]

Sources: [1]Sky News, [2]Guardian, [3]Washington Post, [4]NBC, [5]Bloomberg, [6]Independent and [7]USA Today.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Barrons. Right or left, everyone must take a stand against foreign election interference. These attempts span from the dissemination of fake news to hacking, and are intended to weaken the US and sow chaos. Countries like Iran must face consequences for these shameless attempts to undermine Washington's electoral system.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Fars. The US is the world's biggest election interferer, and its pontificating about foreign interference is meant to distract from its misdeeds abroad. The US openly speaks of regime change in countries that don't toe the Washington line, with Iran being one of its biggest targets, historically. The US should stop its hypocrisy and stay out of other countries' business.