A recent investigation by Google confirmed that an Iranian hacking group targeted the presidential campaigns of former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
A Wednesday report from the Google Threat Analysis Group found that the hackers, an Iranian government-backed threat actor known as APT42, attempted to infiltrate roughly a dozen email accounts affiliated with the campaigns.
'Successfully gained access to the personal Gmail account of a high-profile political consultant.'
"Associated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), APT42 consistently targets high-profile users in Israel and the U.S., including current and former government officials, political campaigns, diplomats, individuals who work at think tanks, as well as NGOs and academic institutions that contribute to foreign policy conversations," Google reported.
The technology company stated that it blocked "numerous" attempts by APT42 to log into the personal email accounts of those currently and previously affiliated with the campaigns. It noted that it prevented similar attacks from APT42 against Trump's and Biden's presidential campaigns in 2020.
Despite the many thwarted attempts, Google reported that APT42 "successfully gained access to the personal Gmail account of a high-profile political consultant." However, it did not specify whose account was compromised.
Google notified the targeted campaigns and law enforcement.
Over the weekend, the Trump campaign reported that an Iranian group had hacked its internal communications in June. The infiltration resulted in a leaked campaign research paper on Trump's running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio). The campaign noted that the 271-page report contained only publicly available information on Vance.
Microsoft also released a report confirming that an Iranian group tied to the IRGC sent a phishing email to "a high-ranking official on a presidential campaign." Microsoft, like Google, did not identify the target of the attack.
The FBI has since released a statement announcing it is "investigating this matter."
Harris' campaign stated, "Our campaign vigilantly monitors and protects against cyber threats, and we are not aware of any security breaches of our systems."
Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung told Politico, "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."
"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 added. "Any media or news outlet reprinting documents or internal communications are doing the bidding of America's enemies and doing exactly what they want."
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North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, who is one of the many candidates competing in the Republican presidential primary, is offering an unusual deal to people who donate to his campaign: For a donation of just $1, people can snag a $20 gift card.
"People are hurting because of Bidenflation, and giving Biden Economic Relief cards is a way to help 50,000 people until we get in office and fix this crazy economy for everyone!" Burgum tweeted on Monday. "Yes, 50,000 people will actually get a Visa or Mastercard gift card to their mailing address. When it comes to providing economic relief to the American people, I'm not messing around!" he added.
"We just launched a short time ago and already we're giving away about 1,000 Biden Relief Cards per hour. Get yours before it's too late!" he noted in another tweet a bit later on Monday.
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The unconventional move will help the GOP candidate meet the fundraising threshold required to participate in the first Republican presidential primary debate next month.
"It also allows us to secure a spot on the debate stage while avoiding paying more advertising fees to social media platforms who have owners that are hostile to conservatives," Burgum spokesperson Lance Trover noted, according to Fox News Digital.
In order to qualify for the August 23 primary debate slated to be held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, candidates must meet certain criteria, some of which include polling and fundraising thresholds.
The Republican National Committee's fundraising criteria for debate eligibility stipulates that candidates must have "a minimum of 40,000 unique donors to candidate’s principal presidential campaign committee (or exploratory committee), with at least 200 unique donors per state or territory in 20+ states and/or territories."
Vivek Ramaswamy, an author and entrepreneur who is also vying for the GOP presidential nomination, has announced that people can join the "Vivek Kitchen Cabinet" program and earn a 10% commission on any funds that they raise for his campaign.
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Part two of an investigation into how the Harris-Walz campaign is manipulating social media sites to artificially boost their popularity, spread election disinformation, and skirt election laws.
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REACTION to Joe Biden’s speech addressing Trump’s near assassination – 'It was a campaign speech from the Oval Office'
Donald’s Trump’s almost assassination is undoubtedly “one of the singular most incredible things that any of us will ever witness,” says Stu Burguiere.
And yet, President Biden has treated his address as if it were “a campaign speech from the Oval Office.”
Stu is disgusted by Biden’s framing — that both sides need to “lower the temperature.”
“This isn't a situation where the right needs to lower its temperature,” he condemns, pointing to the reality that the Republican “candidate in this race almost got his head blown off.”
Biden Address and Trump Rally Shooting: Stu's Live Analysisyoutu.be
If anyone needs to “lower the temperature,” according to Stu, it’s the left.
The temperature was “raised intentionally by the left” when it realized its campaign was “falling apart” due to Biden being “a giant failure,” he explains.
“He is too old, and he [is] desperate, and when a candidate gets desperate, they ... start grasping for straws; the straw they picked out was: What if we turn on the temperature on Donald Trump?” he says, pointing to Biden’s comment on a recent donor call during which he said, “We have to put the bullseye on Trump.”
While Stu doesn’t think Biden’s bullseye comment is necessarily what inspired the shooter at Trump’s rally, he does think that Democrats were attempting to “distract people away from their own problems” by denigrating Trump, especially when they started “intentionally comparing him to Hitler,” which ultimately culminated into Trump escaping within a literal inch of his life.
Stu’s biggest criticism, however, is Biden’s “disgusting” decision to include a “laundry list” of examples of unacceptable political violence — all of which were pointed at the right.
He mentioned “violence against elected officials on January 6th,” “a former Speaker of the House’s husband getting beat up in his house” (a reference to the attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband), “officials ... being harassed after the election because of election fraud,” and “the governor who was almost kidnapped” (a reference to the plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer).
“This dirt bag ... gave a both-sides setup and then gave all examples of things that he deemed right-wing,” criticizes Stu, adding that Biden failed to mention the “10% of elected Republicans [who] were almost murdered on a baseball field,” “[Supreme Court Justice] Brett Kavanaugh almost having his life taken by a person trying to kill him,” “the George Floyd riots,” and “Antifa violence.”
“This is a man who cares far more about his own campaign than he does the country and keeping it together,” he says.
To hear more of Stu’s analysis, watch the video above.
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