US Accuse China, Russia, And Iran Against Hacking Trump Campaign; Files Criminal Charges (image @TeamTrump)

Federal Prosecution of US filed criminal charges against three Iranians. The grand jury of Washington has indicted the three on charges related to hacking and cyber espionage of Donald Trump’s – the Republican Presidential Candidate – campaign. The indictment comes amidst increased worries over election interference in the country by Iran, China and Russia.

Reportedly, the three suspects allegedly conspired with several other hackers to carry out “a years-long, wide ranging hacking operation on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)”, said US Attorney General Merrick Garland.

The charges filed pertain to a top secret Iranian cyber espionage operation that allegedly stole crucial documents related to Trump’s campaign. The hackers also allegedly sent these details to several journalists and key individuals associated with US President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign. This was before Biden backed out from the race and nominated Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic presidential candidate.

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“The defendants’ own words make clear that they were attempting to undermine former president Trump’s campaign in advance of the 2024 US presidential election”, Garland said.

As per the court documents, the hackers had “prepared for, and engaged in a wide-ranging hacking campaign”. These campaign include methods like spear-phishing and social engineering techniques to compromise accounts of several US government officials and individuals associated with political campaigns.

Last month, a Microsoft report said that “Iranian hackers had sent a spear phishing e-mail in June 2024 to a high-ranking official on Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.” In the same month, Google’s cybersecurity department said that “Hackers from Iran tried to breach President Joe Biden’s campaign”.

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“The message of the US government is clear: The American people, not a foreign power, decide the outcome of our country’s elections”, Garland added.

Details on how successful these hacking attempts were, which officials were targeted, and the level of breach have not been revealed by investigating agencies.

The United States Intelligence Community or IC earlier said that “Foreign actors are increasing their election influence activities as we approach November. Our judgements on the activities of Russia, Iran, and China have not changed since our last update”.

It is the latest indictment in a string of federal indictments against foreign hackers that have targeted government agencies and individuals.

(With inputs from agencies)