US says Iran hackers offered Trump material to Biden team

AFP | Washington

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US authorities on Wednesday said Iranian cyberattackers had offered “stolen, non-public” material from Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign to staff for his then White House rival, Joe Biden. US intelligence and law enforcement agencies said the hackers “sent unsolicited emails to individuals then associated with President Biden’s campaign that contained an excerpt taken from stolen, non-public material from former president Trump’s campaign.”

Biden was at the time the Democratic presidential nominee, before dramatically stepping aside in July and endorsing his vice president, Kamala Harris. The joint statement from the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said none of Biden’s campaign staff replied to the emails. In August, the same agencies first attributed the hack to Iran, accusing Tehran of seeking to influence the 2024 election.

Iran denies the allegations. “Foreign actors are increasing their election influence activities” as Election Day in November approaches, the US statement said, singling out Russia, Iran and China as “trying by some measure to exacerbate divisions in US society for their benefit.”