Google: Hackers Linked to the IRGC Targeted Trump and Biden Campaigns

Google confirmed that hackers associated with the Islamic Republic of Iran targeted the campaign offices of current President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. Recently, Joe Biden announced that he would withdraw from the race for the 2024 presidential election as the Democratic Party candidate and support his vice president, Kamala Harris. The 'Google Threat Analysis Group' reported on Wednesday that the hacking group APT42 has targeted the personal email accounts of about twelve individuals associated with Biden and Trump, the Republican candidate in this year's November election. The report also states that APT42 'successfully accessed the personal Gmail account of a 'seasoned political consultant,' but did not disclose the consultant's name. On Tuesday, it was reported that the personal email account of Roger Stone, a supporter of Donald Trump and a key figure in the Republican campaign, was likely compromised by hackers linked to the Iranian government. According to Google, the hacking group APT42 is associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and continuously targets prominent and well-known users in Israel and the United States. According to a chart prepared by Google in its report, this hacking group has even targeted users within Iran to gain access to their computer systems. Current and former government officials, political campaigns, diplomats, think tank employees, as well as NGOs and academic institutions involved in foreign policy discussions have been targeted by this IRGC-linked group. Google stated that in the past six months, about 60% of APT42's known geographic targeting has been focused on the U.S. and Israel, indicating the aggressive and multifaceted efforts of this group to rapidly shift its operational focus in support of the political and military priorities of the Iranian government. According to this report, the APT42 hacking group had previously attempted to interfere in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. According to Politico, early Wednesday, Trump, in his first public comment on the incident, accused the Islamic Republic of hacking his campaign office and praised the FBI's investigation into this hack. The FBI confirmed on Monday in response to Voice of America that it is investigating reports of alleged hacking of Donald Trump's campaign office by the Islamic Republic. On the same day, The Washington Post reported that the FBI stated it is also investigating suspicious efforts attributed to the Islamic Republic to hack the Biden-Harris campaign office and an assistant to Donald Trump. The White House condemned any foreign attempts to interfere in U.S. elections and took it very seriously. Experts warned about disruptions in the U.S. elections following reports of the hacking of Trump's campaign office. McCall: The Islamic Republic is trying to influence the U.S. elections and strengthen distrust in political institutions. CNN: The possibility of Iranian hackers accessing Roger Stone's personal email, a close associate of Trump. The Washington Post: The FBI is investigating the Islamic Republic's attempts to hack the Biden-Harris campaign office. The FBI is investigating the 'hacking of Trump's campaign office' by the Islamic Republic.