FBI Investigating Claims Iranian Hackers Targeted Trump Campaign

A seal reading "Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation" on the J. Edgar Hoover FBI building in Washington on Aug. 9, 2022. (Stefani Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

The FBI has opened an investigation into reports that hackers, potentially tied to Iran, may have targeted former President Donald Trump’s campaign.

Microsoft’s cyber threat assessment office issued a report on Aug. 9 assessing that a group dubbed “Mint Sandstorm” used a spear-phishing email tactic to target a high-ranking official in an unspecified U.S. presidential campaign in June. The Microsoft Threat Analysis Center assessment states that Mint Sandstorm—which Microsoft believes is a hacking group connected to the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)—also attempted to log into an account belonging to an unspecified former presidential candidate.

Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung told Politico on Aug. 10 that it was Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign that was being targeted in the cyber intrusion effort.

The FBI confirmed in an Aug. 12 statement emailed to The Epoch Times that it is currently investigating the alleged hacking attack. It offered no additional comment about the hacking allegations.

Cheung offered Politico little specific evidence that the Trump campaign was the target of this hacking operation. Cheung highlighted in his comments that the alleged cybersecurity breach coincides with other recent reports that Iran is targeting Trump. Iran has vowed to pursue the former president for ordering a drone strike on Jan. 3, 2020, that killed IRGC Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

According to Politico, Cheung declined to say whether the Trump campaign had been in contact with Microsoft or law enforcement about the cybersecurity claims.

The Epoch Times reached out to Cheung for further details about the campaign’s cybersecurity assessment.

Politico reported that it had been contacted online by an individual who identified himself only as “Robert,” who relayed what appeared to be the internal communication of a senior Trump campaign official. Among the documents was a 271-page research dossier on Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), whom Trump chose as his running mate last month.

Robert reportedly rejected questions from Politico about how he came into possession of the communications, stating: “I suggest you don’t be curious about where I got them from. Any answer to this question will compromise me and also legally restricts you from publishing them.”

Politico did not state explicitly whether it believes Robert had any specific connection to the hacking allegations.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence released an intelligence community assessment last month, concluding that Iranian groups are working to fuel distrust toward U.S. institutions and increase social discord. The assessment states that Iranian groups use “vast webs of online personas and propaganda mills to spread disinformation and have notably been active in exacerbating tensions over the Israel–Gaza conflict.”

The intelligence community report further states that Tehran is “working to influence the presidential election, probably because Iranian leaders want to avoid an outcome they perceive would increase tensions with the United States.”

The Iranian mission to the United Nations has denied allegations of Tehran’s involvement in a cyber breach targeting the Trump campaign.

The Iranian mission insists that Tehran is instead the target of cyberattacks. The mission said Tehran uses its cyber capabilities for defense and for directing proportionate responses to the attacks that Iran faces.