Iranian hackers have launched a cyber-attack targeting President Donald Trump’s election campaign camp ahead of the US presidential election in 2020. The US-based multinational technology firm Microsoft said this in a blog post on Friday.
Immediately after the attack, Iranian sources told Reuters that many sources were attacking Trump’s re-election campaign officials’ accounts. Microsoft, however, did not name any candidate in their statement.
The hacker group, called ‘Phosphorus’, sought to identify more than 2,700+ accounts in 30 days between August and September this year; They later attacked the target of 241 specific accounts, says the tech giant company.
“Among the accounts that have targeted the attack are the accounts of a US presidential candidate, a camp officer, a former US official, a journalist working on global politics, and the renowned Iranians living outside Iran,” the statement said. About this claim by Microsoft, there was no comment from Iran on the matter.
A total of 4 accounts have been damaged in the hackers’ attacks, with accounts not linked to a former US administration official or campaign candidate for that presidential candidate, Microsoft said.
19 Democratic candidates have fielded to contest the presidential elections in the United States next year. The Three Republican leaders are also planning to challenge Trump, Reuters reported.
The US political arena is now under pressure from Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelinsky to investigate corruption in former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, who are among the Democratic nominees. In a July phone call, Trump withdrew money from US military aid to the country just days before Trump pressured Ukraine’s president to investigate.
Critics allege that Trump did so as part of a bid for personal gain. The three members of the House of Representatives have also launched a probe into Trump’s accusation that the US president has allowed a foreign country to interfere in the upcoming election. The Republican president called the investigation a ‘Scam’.
In June 2015, five member states of the Security Council signed a nuclear agreement with Iran in Vienna with the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China (P-FIVE) and Germany (One). According to the agreement, Tehran pledged not to build nuclear weapons despite continuing its uranium enrichment activities.
The US President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of the United States from May 2018, calling it a “Consumptive and decadent” agreement signed during the Obama era. Washington began sanctions on Tehran in November. In reality, the Trump administration has had turmoil over Iran.