Google claims Iran attempted to hack Trump, Biden-Harris campaigns

(MENAFN) According to a report released by Google, Iranian hackers attempted to infiltrate both the Republican and Democratic presidential campaigns earlier this summer. The tech giant’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) described the attacks as part of a broader email phishing operation aimed at stealing personal information or breaching accounts.

The timing of Google’s report follows allegations from former United States President Donald Trump’s campaign, which claimed that foreign sources had stolen internal emails and documents. Trump’s campaign has accused Iran of orchestrating the hack to meddle in the upcoming United States presidential election, a charge Tehran has denied.

Google’s TAG identified the perpetrators as APT42, an Iranian hacking group with connections to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The group, which focuses on high-profile targets, has been linked to attacks on government officials, political campaigns, diplomats, and various organizations involved in foreign policy.

The report detailed that APT42 had launched multiple phishing attempts to access the personal email accounts of around a dozen individuals associated with President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and former President Trump. These attempts occurred in May and June and targeted both current and former officials from the respective campaigns. Google successfully thwarted numerous efforts by the hackers to gain unauthorized access.

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