Hackers target US presidential campaign: Microsoft
October 4, 2019
Microsoft has said hackers linked to Iran have targeted US media figures, government officials and prominent Iranians living abroad. According to reports, Donald Trump's reelection campaign was among those targeted.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Balk
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Microsoft announced on Friday that a hacking group allegedly linked to the Iranian government has carried out a campaign against a US presidential candidate.
The US tech giant declined to identify which campaign had been targeted, citing privacy reasons. But Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the matter, that President Donald Trump's reelection campaign was attacked.
The president’s campaign website is the only one of the main 2020 contenders that is linked to Microsoft's cloud email service, according to publicly available mail exchanger records.
"We have no indication that any of our campaign infrastructure was targeted," said Tim Murtaugh, director of communications for the Trump campaign.
The hacker group, which Microsoft named Phosphorous, made more than 2,700 attempts in a 30-day period between August and September to identify customer email accounts. The hackers managed to hack into 241 of them, said Microsoft.
Current and former US government officials and journalists covering global affairs, in Iran and elsewhere, were also targeted by the group. They were especially interested in prominent Iranians living abroad.
Tom Burt, Microsoft's corporate vice president for customer security and trust, made the announcement in a blog post on Friday.
"It is important that we all — governments and private sector — are increasingly transparent about nation-state attacks and efforts to disrupt democratic processes," he wrote.
The US expelled 35 Russian diplomats over a bitter row between the two countries. The Kremlin denied US intelligence reports that it supported hackers who tried to sway the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/K. Kudryavtsev
Democrats in the dark
Over the summer, a security company hired by the Democratic National Convention tells the DNC that they have been successfully infiltrated by hackers for more than year. Two groups, known as Cozy Bear and Fancy Bear, both have links to the Russian government, the Washington Post reports.
Image: Reuters/M. Kauzlarich
All eyes on Russia
At the end of July, the FBI launches an investigation into whether or not the Russian government ordered the DNC hack. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov calls the move "paranoid."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
'Russia, if you're listening'
On the campaign trail, Republican nominee Donald Trump encourages Russia to "find the 30,000 emails that are missing." In a series of debates with rival Hillary Clinton, Trump casts doubt on Moscow's role in hacks that targeted the DNC and Clinton's campaign manager, John Podesta.
Image: Reuters/J. Ernst
WikiLeaks targets Clinton
Anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks begins releasing slightly compromising emails from Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. Co-founder Julian Assange defends targeting Clinton, saying Trump's own statements are indictment enough of the Republican nominee. Over a period of months, WikiLeaks consistently denies allegations that its sources are based in Russia.
Image: Reuters/A. Schmidt
CIA, FBI investigations
In a rare moment of complete agreement for the two biggest intelligence agencies in the US, both the FBI and CIA come to the conclusion that the Russian government sought to influence the US election by promoting unfavorable coverage of Hillary Clinton.
Image: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Donald and Vladimir
Trump, who has made no secret of his admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin, calls the intelligence reports "ridiculous." Anti-Clinton voices slam the probe as a distraction meant to discredit the now president-elect. This puts Trump at odds with Republicans in Congress who call for an independent investigation.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Thew & A. Druzhinin/Ria Novosti/Kremlin Pool
Obama expels diplomats
At the end of December, the Obama administration expels 35 Russian diplomats and shuts down two Russian intelligence compounds as the Kremlin continues to deny having a role in the summer's cyberattacks. President Putin eschews direct retaliation, saying he will wait to see how President-elect Trump's Russia policies play out.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/P. M. Monsivais
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'Not technically sophisticated'
Burt said four accounts had been compromised, but none of these were linked to the presidential campaign. He described the attacks as "not technically sophisticated" but warned all users to "be vigilant."
Hackers were apparently attempting to gather information about people through password reset processes and account recovery features.
Friday's announcement comes after US officials had already warned about potential attempts to hack the 2020 presidential election.
