The FBI and other federal U.S. agencies say Iranian hackers sent unsolicited e-mails to individuals then associated with President Joe Biden's reelection campaign that contained an excerpt taken from stolen, nonpublic material from former President Donald Trump's campaign as text in the e-mails.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the FBI, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said in a joint statement on September 18 that Iran has made efforts to sow discord and shape the outcome of U.S. elections scheduled for November 5.
"Iranian malicious cyber-actors have continued their efforts since June to send stolen, nonpublic material associated with former President Trump’s campaign to U.S. media organizations," the joint statement said, noting there is currently no information indicating any of the recipients replied.
"This malicious cyber-activity is the latest example of Iran's multipronged approach, as noted in the joint August statement, to stoke discord and undermine confidence in our electoral process," it added.
The U.S. intelligence community has been warning it expects Russia, China, and Iran to attempt to influence U.S. politics and policies to "benefit their interests and undermine U.S. democracy and Washington's standing in the world."
Trump is the Republican Party candidate, while current Vice President Kamala Harris is the candidate for the Democratic Party.
Biden was the party's candidate until July 21, when he announced his withdrawal from the campaign and endorsed Harris as his replacement.
Hackers have also tried to target Harris's e-mail accounts as well through phishing attacks carried out by a group with suspected ties to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the elite branch of the armed forces.
Experts say an Iranian network dubbed "Storm-2035" operates multiple inauthentic news sites on the web and social media that use AI-generated content to agitate conservative and liberal dissidence.
"Foreign actors are increasing their election influence activities as we approach November," the ODNI joint statement said.
"In particular, Russia, Iran, and China are trying by some measure to exacerbate divisions in U.S. society for their own benefit, and see election periods as moments of vulnerability. Efforts by these, or other foreign actors, to undermine our democratic institutions are a direct threat to the U.S. and will not be tolerated."
In addition to the presidency, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 34 of the 100 seats in the Senate are being contested in the election.