FBI says it’s confident Iran tried to hack Trump presidential campaign

The FBI and U.S. intelligence agencies have confirmed Iran was responsible for recent attempted hacks into the Trump and Biden-Harris presidential campaigns, the agencies said in a joint statement Monday.

Campaign staffers received phishing emails that were designed to appear legitimate but could give an intruder access to the recipients’ communications, the Washington Post has previously reported, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a sensitive investigation.

Among the hacking targets was adviser Susie Wiles, one of the most senior officials on former president Donald Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. FBI officials had previously said they suspected Iran was linked to the attacks.

“The (intelligence community) is confident that the Iranians have through social engineering and other efforts sought access to individuals with direct access to the Presidential campaigns of both political parties,” the FBI said in the statement, which was issued with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. “Such activity, including thefts and disclosures, are intended to influence the U.S. election process.”

The statement said that Iran perceives the upcoming presidential election as consequential and wants to try to shape the outcome. It’s unclear what information – if any – was obtained through the hacking attempts.

Such tactics are “not new,” the agencies said. “Iran and Russia have employed these tactics not only in the United States during this and prior federal election cycles but also in other countries around the world.”