David McAfee
August 10, 2024
Former President Donald Trump. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Donald Trump's political campaign became the subject of mockery on Saturday after reporting being "hacked" by someone using a commonly used email tactic known as a "phishing" scam.
The Trump campaign reportedly told Politico that the team experienced a hack after the news outlet started receiving what appeared to be internal communications from an anonymous individual by email. Among the items the outlet says it received was a "dossier" on Trump's running mate, J.D. Vance.
The campaign blamed "foreign sources" for the release, but declined to give details. The internet, however, was rife with speculation.
Conservative Army Iraq War Veteran Peter Henlein weighed in over the weekend.
"Lol, the Trump campaign has been hacked with a phishing email, and now internal campaign documents are being sent to Politico," he wrote. "The stupidity of these people. I can only imagine what type of cringe nonsense is going to come out."
A pro-Ron DeSantis account, @griftercallout, added, "Must've thought it was a Trump campaign email and couldn't tell the difference lol."
Former George W. Bush strategist Matthew Dowd said, "I don't believe anything the Trump campaign says."
"They lie like they [breathe]," the strategist added. "My sense is this came from a disgruntled staffer not some mythic foreign source."
Historian Aaron Astor said Saturday, "This is like a repeat of 2016, with Iran taking the place of Russia, and Trump being the target of the hack, rather than it being his opponent. The Trump campaign, like HRC, falling for a phishing attempt by a hostile foreign power."
Travis Akers, a retired Naval Intelligence Officer and Newsweek opinion writer, said, "Sounds like someone is about to be assigned some Cybersecurity CBTs [computer-based training]."
"The Trump campaign fell for a phishing attempt in an email from the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] and now their internal campaign materials and data have been hacked," he added.
Dean Obeidallah, a former attorney and host of SiriusXM radio’s daily program, “The Dean Obeidallah Show," Saturday simply wrote, "Hmmm....Trump campaign was hacked, campaign says."
Trump campaign says hit by hackers after dossier on JD Vance leaked, implies Iranians as culprits
Republican presidential nominee and former US President Donald Trump gestures at a campaign rally in Bozeman, Montana, U.S., August 9, 2024. — Reuters pic
Sunday, 11 Aug 2024
WASHINGTON, Aug 11 — Donald Trump’s campaign said Saturday it had been hacked, blaming “foreign sources” for distributing internal communications and a dossier on running mate J.D. Vance.
Trump’s campaign implied Iran was behind the move as news outlet Politico reported it had received emails with the campaign material from a source who refused to identify themselves.
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“These documents were obtained illegally from foreign sources hostile to the United States, intended to interfere with the 2024 election and sow chaos throughout our Democratic process,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement.
Cheung cited a report from Microsoft this week that said Iranian hackers “sent a spear phishing email in June to a high-ranking official on a presidential campaign.”
The materials received by Politico included research on vetting Vance, Trump’s vice presidential pick.
In 2016, a hack of Democratic National Committee emails — blamed on Russians — exposed internal party communications, including about candidate Hillary Clinton.
Trump, who would go on to win the election, was criticised for encouraging the hack. —
AFP
Donald Trump campaign alleges hacking, blames Iran
Reuters
10 Aug, 2024
Iran’s foreign ministry has not commented on claims put forward by Donald Trump’s campaign that some of its internal communications have been hacked. Photo / Getty Images
The campaign of former US president and current Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump said some of its internal communications have been hacked and blamed the Iranian government, citing past hostilities between Trump and Iran without providing direct evidence.
The campaign statement came shortly after news website Politico revealed it began receiving emails in July from an anonymous source offering authentic documents from inside Trump’s operation, including a report about running mate JD Vance’s “potential vulnerabilities”.
“These documents were obtained illegally from foreign sources hostile to the United States, intended to interfere with the 2024 election and sow chaos throughout our Democratic process,” Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement on Saturday.
Reuters has not independently verified the identity of the alleged hackers or their motivation.
The Trump campaign referred to a Friday report from Microsoft researchers that said Iranian government-tied hackers tried breaking into the account of a “high-ranking official” on a US presidential campaign in June.
The hackers had taken over an account belonging to a former political adviser and then used it to target the official, the report said. That report did not provide further details on the targets’ identities.
A Microsoft spokesperson declined to name the targeted officials or provide additional details after the report was published.
Iran’s foreign ministry and its United Nations representative did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Reuters
10 Aug, 2024
Iran’s foreign ministry has not commented on claims put forward by Donald Trump’s campaign that some of its internal communications have been hacked. Photo / Getty Images
The campaign of former US president and current Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump said some of its internal communications have been hacked and blamed the Iranian government, citing past hostilities between Trump and Iran without providing direct evidence.
The campaign statement came shortly after news website Politico revealed it began receiving emails in July from an anonymous source offering authentic documents from inside Trump’s operation, including a report about running mate JD Vance’s “potential vulnerabilities”.
“These documents were obtained illegally from foreign sources hostile to the United States, intended to interfere with the 2024 election and sow chaos throughout our Democratic process,” Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement on Saturday.
Reuters has not independently verified the identity of the alleged hackers or their motivation.
The Trump campaign referred to a Friday report from Microsoft researchers that said Iranian government-tied hackers tried breaking into the account of a “high-ranking official” on a US presidential campaign in June.
The hackers had taken over an account belonging to a former political adviser and then used it to target the official, the report said. That report did not provide further details on the targets’ identities.
A Microsoft spokesperson declined to name the targeted officials or provide additional details after the report was published.
Iran’s foreign ministry and its United Nations representative did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt in July. Photo / Getty Images
On Friday, in response to Microsoft’s findings, Iran’s mission to the UN in New York told Reuters its cyber capabilities were “defensive and proportionate to the threats it faces” and that it had no plans to launch cyberattacks.
“The US presidential election is an internal matter in which Iran does not interfere,” Iran’s mission to the UN said.
The former president had tense relations with Iran while in office. Under Trump, the United States killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in 2020 and withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal.
“The Iranians know that President Trump will stop their reign of terror just like he did in his first four years in the White House,” Cheung said.
Trump survived an assassination attempt in July. While there have been no suggestions the suspect was linked to Iran, CNN reported last month that the US had intelligence about an Iranian plot against Trump. Iran has denied such charges.
Late last month, a senior intelligence official told reporters in a briefing that Tehran and Moscow maintain their same presidential preferences as in past cycles, where Iranian operatives will attempt to tear down the Republican ticket while Russia has made efforts to smear Democrats, according to prior intelligence community assessments.
On Friday, in response to Microsoft’s findings, Iran’s mission to the UN in New York told Reuters its cyber capabilities were “defensive and proportionate to the threats it faces” and that it had no plans to launch cyberattacks.
“The US presidential election is an internal matter in which Iran does not interfere,” Iran’s mission to the UN said.
The former president had tense relations with Iran while in office. Under Trump, the United States killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in 2020 and withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal.
“The Iranians know that President Trump will stop their reign of terror just like he did in his first four years in the White House,” Cheung said.
Trump survived an assassination attempt in July. While there have been no suggestions the suspect was linked to Iran, CNN reported last month that the US had intelligence about an Iranian plot against Trump. Iran has denied such charges.
Late last month, a senior intelligence official told reporters in a briefing that Tehran and Moscow maintain their same presidential preferences as in past cycles, where Iranian operatives will attempt to tear down the Republican ticket while Russia has made efforts to smear Democrats, according to prior intelligence community assessments.
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