Experts are raising concerns about potential foreign interference in the upcoming U.S. presidential election. This comes after the Trump campaign revealed that it believes its email systems were breached by hackers, possibly working for Iran. The situation has sparked fears that other foreign powers might also be attempting to disrupt the election process.
So far, two Democratic members of the House of Representatives, who have experience on intelligence and security committees, are calling for briefings and for the declassification of information regarding possible foreign meddling in the election.
Chris Krebs, the former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, took to X (formerly Twitter) to warn the public. He referred to the 2016 presidential election when U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that Russia had interfered by hacking and leaking internal Democratic documents. Krebs urged people to “buckle up,” suggesting that similar tactics might be in play this election season. He emphasized the importance of paper ballots and audits to ensure the resilience of the voting system but noted that creating chaos seems to be the main goal of these efforts.
The Trump campaign made its announcement after receiving inquiries from news organizations about an internal document related to vice-presidential candidate JD Vance that had been sent to several media outlets. The Washington Post reported that it had received the 271-page document, labeled “privileged & confidential,” from an anonymous AOL user named “Robert.” Politico, the first to report on the Trump campaign’s statement, noted that it had been receiving similar documents from the same sender since July 22.
The Trump campaign cited a report released by Microsoft on Friday, which indicated that Iranian hackers had attempted to access the email account of a “high-ranking official” in a U.S. presidential campaign in June, around the same time JD Vance was chosen as Trump’s running mate. While Microsoft declined to name the specific campaign, someone familiar with the company’s work confirmed that the Trump campaign was the target.
However, U.S. officials have not confirmed that the campaign was hacked, and the Trump campaign has not provided evidence of the breach or Iranian involvement.
Representative Eric Swalwell, a leading Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee’s cybersecurity subcommittee, is seeking a briefing from the Department of Homeland Security. He emphasized that while he strongly opposes Trump, foreign interference in U.S. elections should never be tolerated. Swalwell made these comments on X, underscoring the seriousness of the situation.
Former House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff also urged officials to quickly declassify any information related to the possible foreign nature of the reported hack. He pointed out that during the 2016 election, the Intelligence Community was too slow to identify Russia’s hacking and document-dumping scheme, which aimed to divide Americans and benefit the Trump campaign. Schiff called for a faster response this time and urged both political parties to condemn the reported hack.
Meanwhile, the Harris-Walz campaign has not responded to multiple requests for comment on the situation.
Since the 2016 election, Democratic campaigns and related organizations have significantly ramped up their cybersecurity efforts to protect against hacks and other threats. These enhanced security measures reflect the growing concern about foreign interference in U.S. elections.
Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for president, addressed the situation on his social media platform, Truth Social. He claimed that his campaign had been informed by Microsoft that one of their websites was hacked by the Iranian government. Trump asserted that only publicly available information was accessed but criticized Iran for engaging in such activities. He also blamed the current U.S. government for being “weak and ineffective” but vowed that this would not continue.
The document sent to The Washington Post was an internal campaign report on JD Vance’s potential political vulnerabilities, dated February 23. The report was commissioned by the Trump campaign from the law firm Brand Woodward. While the report drew from public records and news articles, it was an internal document not intended for public release.
On Saturday, a spokesperson for the National Security Council strongly condemned any foreign government or entity attempting to interfere in the U.S. electoral process or undermine confidence in American democratic institutions.
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The FBI, aware of the media reports, declined to comment on the situation.
