FBI probes Trump hack: Harris team targeted, too
By: Dan Morrison
USA Today
WASHINGTON - The FBI confirmed Monday [08/12/2024] that it's investigating allegations that Iranian Cyber agents breached Donald Trump's presidential campaign in another case of foreign intelligence services targeting U.S. elections. The Kamla Harris campaign also revealed that it was the victim of a failed hack attempt.
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Trump said Saturday [08/10/2024] political operation, confirming speculation that the Republican nominee was the unnamed victim of a June [2024] intrusion tech giant Microsoft had exposed a day earlier.
..... "We can confirm the FBI is investigating this matter," the bureau said in a statement.
..... The Harris campaign said Monday [08/12/2024] was the target of a "spear phishing" attack - this one unsuccessful - aimed at breaching its firewall, The Washington Post reported.
..... "Our campaign vigilantly monitors and protects against cyber threats, and we are not aware of any security breaches of our systems," a Harris packaging official told USA Today.
..... On Monday, [08/12/2024]
the White House deferred to the FBI on the alleged Trump hack. "this administration strongly condemns any foreign government or entity who attempts to interfere in our democratic institution," press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.
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Trump said in a social media post that the hackers had only snagged "publicly available information."
..... But news of the infiltration was quickly followed by revelations that at least two news organization had received what appeared to be a document examining Senator J.D. Vance's vulnerabilities ahead of his mid-July [2024] selection as Trump's running mate - material potentially damaging to a GOP ticket.
..... "Any media or news outlet reprinting documents or internal communications are doing the bidding of America's enemies and doing exactly what they want," Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement Saturday. [08/10/2024]
..... In 2016, Trump opponent Hillary Clinton's campaign was beset by damaging revelations after Russian hackers breached the Democratic National committee's email server. Trump, who had publicly asked Russia to hack Clinton, celebrated that breach and even read portions of the purloined emails aloud at a campaign rally.