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But Iran’s 2020 election interference efforts stand apart from what have become well-recognized interference patterns, according to an indictment from the Justice Department, Treasury Department sanctions, researchers and media reporting, and comments from current and former U.S. officials. That gave them access to Election Night Reporting (ENR) systems, which provide live updates on unofficial results on Election Day. Fake Proud Boys campaignIn the most bizarre and elaborate foreign influence campaign of 2020, Iranian hackers allegedly staged an entirely fictional cyber-enabled fraud and harassment campaign, according to a detailed 2021 Justice Department indictment. The Iranian hackers did successfully steal some voter data from Alaska’s Online Voter Registration System, but otherwise none of it was true. The hackers tried to post it to various platforms online but it gained little traction.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Hillary Clinton’s, Trump, ”, Brandon Wales, William J, Hartman, It’s, Emennet Pasargad, “, Christopher Wray, National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, Alireza Miryousefi, Department’s, Joe Biden, Gretchen Whitmer, Chris Krebs, CISA, Miryousefi Organizations: Democratic, Justice Department, Treasury Department, Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Security Agency, NBC News, Cyber Command, Army, RSA, tinker, U.S, Trump militia, Alaska’s, Stanford University, Google, YouTube, Republican, Trump, National Intelligence, Iran, United Nations, Lee Enterprises, U.S . Capitol, Dominion Voting Systems, FBI Locations: United States, Iran, China, Russia, U.S, Iranian, Tehran, San Francisco, Florida, Moldova, Alaska, American, Omaha, crosshairs, Michigan

☆ Oil markets not pricing in an 'all-out war' after Israel kills Hezbollah leader, but risks persist
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-30 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | In Ying-Shan-Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

While hostilities throughout the Middle East have ramped up, there has not been any oil supply disruption, observed Andy Lipow, president at Lipow Oil Associates. "The oil market does not expect an all-out war between Iran and Israel that would impact supply," he told CNBC via email. However, both experts noted that a rapid escalation in conflict could lead to crude oil prices hitting $100 per barrel. While unlikely, oil prices would jump by $30 per barrel if it occurred, he added. "If events rapidly spiral, any material disruption to Iranian oil supplies or oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz could send oil prices well over $100 per barrel," said Young.

Persons: Hassan Nasrallah, Nasrallah, Andy Lipow, Lipow, Josh Young, Young Organizations: State, Company, Venezuelan, Company SA, Israel Defense Forces, Hezbollah, U.S, National Intelligence, London Assembly, Brent, West Texas Intermediate, Lipow Oil Associates, CNBC, U.S ., U.S . Energy Information Administration, Hamas Locations: Venezuela, Beirut, Iran, Israel, U.S . Canada, Guyana, Straits, Hormuz, Oman, Lebanon

U.S. officials have privately said that Trump's campaign was the victim of the attack. Former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally on Sept. 24, 2024, in Savannah, Ga. Brandon Bell / Getty ImagesUnsolicited emails that included the stolen material from Trump’s campaign were then sent to associates of his Democratic political rival. The hack against the Trump campaign is just the latest example of an increasingly brazen approach by Iran that includes alleged murder plots against dissidents and defectors on American soil and an assassination threat against former President Trump, U.S. officials and analysts say. For more than two months, hackers who stole the documents have tried to persuade the American media to write about or publish the files they stole. “I’m just not a believer of the news media as an arm of the government, doing its work combating foreign influence.

Persons: Donald Trump, Brandon Bell, Masoud Jalili, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri, Roger Stone, “, Joe Biden’s, Trump, Matthew Olsen, Olsen, —, Sen, JD Vance, Ken Klippenstein, ” Klippenstein, “ I’m, General Merrick Garland, Kent Nishimura, Robert, ”, Robert persona’s, Konstantin Kalashnikov, Elena Afanasyeva, Tenet Organizations: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Getty, Democratic, CIA, Defense Department, United Nations, FBI, National Intelligence, Infrastructure Security Agency, Justice Department, NBC News, department’s National Security Division, Trump, Beijing, U.S, NBC, Department of Justice, Justice, YouTube, RT, Tenet Media Locations: Washington, Savannah , Ga, Iran, Fars, U.S, Russia, China, American, R, Ohio, Tennessee

☆ Top Democrat urges Biden admin to do more to help local election officials fight a flood of disinformation
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-27 | by ( Dan De Luce | Dan De Luce Is A Reporter For The Nbc News Investigative Unit. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

“Unfortunately, throughout this election cycle we have witnessed an unprecedented rise in targeted election disinformation campaigns,” Warner wrote to Jen Easterly, director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA). They say some understaffed state and local election agencies are ill-equipped to handle the problem and are uncertain how much they can rely on federal agencies for help. In his letter, Warner said state and local governments are hard-pressed to keep up with the rapid advances in AI-generated information operations. CISA has said previously that the agency has focused on helping educate the public and train state and local election officials about the tactics employed in disinformation campaigns. Instead, for any disinformation originating from within the U.S., it will likely be up to state and local election officials to flag it to voters.

Persons: Biden, NBC News . Sen, Mark Warner of Virginia, —, ” Warner, Jen, “, Sen, Mark Warner, Tom Williams, Donald Trump’s, Warner, CISA, Kamala Harris Organizations: Democratic, NBC News ., Senate Intelligence, Infrastructure Agency, Capitol, Inc, Getty, NBC News, Officials, FBI, Department of Homeland, Warner, National Intelligence Locations: Russia, Iran, China, Florida, U.S

☆ Independent journalist publishes Trump campaign document hacked by Iran despite election interference concerns
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-27 | by ( Kevin Collier | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The PDF document is a 271-page opposition research file on former President Donald Trump's running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio. But on Thursday, reporter Ken Klippenstein, who self-publishes on Substack after he left The Intercept this year, published one of the files. "If the document had been hacked by some 'anonymous' like hacker group, the news media would be all over it. Three U.S. agencies have publicly attributed the hack and the subsequent distribution of the files to Iran. As president, Trump authorized the assassination of military leader Qassem Soleimani.

Persons: Donald Trump's, Sen, JD Vance, Ken Klippenstein, I'm, Klippenstein, Vance, Hillary Clinton's, Trump, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Qassem Soleimani, Robert, Robert persona's, Elon Musk, Joe Biden's, Hunter, Substack Organizations: European Union, Austria International, Politico, Trump, Google, Microsoft, NBC, National Intelligence, Intelligence, NBC News, New York Post Locations: Iran, China, Russia, Britain, Germany, France, American, R, Ohio, U.S, Substack

The PDF document is a 271-page opposition research file on former President Donald Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio. But on Thursday, reporter Ken Klippenstein, who self-publishes on Substack after he left The Intercept this year, published one of the files. “If the document had been hacked by some ‘anonymous’ like hacker group, the news media would be all over it. As president, Trump authorized the assassination of military leader Qassem Soleimani. The Vance file appears to be the one Klippenstein hosts on his site.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Sen, JD Vance, Ken Klippenstein, I’m, ”, Klippenstein, “, Vance, Hillary Clinton’s, Trump, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Qassem Soleimani, Robert, Robert persona’s, Elon Musk, Joe Biden’s, Hunter, Substack Organizations: Politico, Trump, Google, Microsoft, NBC, National Intelligence, Intelligence, NBC News, New York Post Locations: American, R, Ohio, Iran, U.S, Substack

Trump was surrounded by Secret Service agents at his North Carolina event on Wednesday as he greeted supporters in the rope line. Congress just approved funding for both Harris and Trump to receive presidential-level protections, which one security expert said was unprecedented. “They are all now getting presidential-level protection from the U.S. Secret Service, which has never been done before,” said Evy Poumpouras, a former Secret Service agent. In a statement Tuesday, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung disclosed that Trump had received an intelligence briefing about Iran. An official with the Trump campaign said it had no intention of altering or modifying its campaigning after this briefing.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, ”, Kamala Harris, Harris, Evy Poumpouras, ” Poumpouras, Mark Felix, Kimberly Cheatle, Ryan Routh, Joe Biden’s, Covid, Ronald Rowe, Butler, “, Donald, Jim Watson, Steven Cheung, ” Cheung, ” Trump Organizations: Secret Service, Service, NBC, Marine, Naval Observatory, Trump, Secret, Getty, ”, Authorities, Republicans, Democratic Party, Harris, Tempe , Arizona . Police, Air Force, “, National Intelligence Locations: Iran, North Carolina, Carolina, U.S, Butler , Pennsylvania, West Palm Beach , Florida, Tempe , Arizona, AFP, United States

One of the nation’s largest Muslim political groups endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday despite fierce opposition to her Middle East policy, saying that stopping former President Donald Trump is paramount. Alzayat, of Emgage, said his group respected those in the community who are making different decisions. And he acknowledged the difficulty of backing Harris, pointing to Palestinian and Lebanese American staffers and supporters of the group. “We hold President Biden responsible for continuing to provide the Netanyahu government with weapons.,” Alzayat said, drawing a distinction with Harris. As she has over the past year, the Vice President will continue to work to prevent the conflict from widening throughout the region.”

Persons: Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, they’ve, Wa’el Alzayat, Trump, Joe Biden’s, Jill Stein, Harris, Cornel West, Chase Oliver, ”, Amer Ghalib, Alzayat, “, National Intelligence Ric Grennell, ” Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu, Emgage, Biden, Netanyahu, ” Alzayat, we’ve, ” Harris, Julie Chavez Rodriquez, Chavez Rodriquez Organizations: Wednesday, NBC News, ”, Democrats, Cornel West, Force, Libertarian Party, Arab, Lebanese American, Palestinian, Trump, National Intelligence, Biden Locations: Gaza, Lebanon, Hamtramck , Michigan, Emgage, Palestinian, Israel, Arab

☆ Trump briefed by intelligence officials about ongoing Iranian threats to assassinate him, campaign says
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-25 | by ( Raquel Coronell Uribe | Dan De Luce | Raquel Coronell Uribe Is A Breaking News Reporter. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Top U.S. intelligence officials briefed former President Donald Trump on Tuesday about threats from Iran to assassinate him, a Trump campaign spokesperson said. “Intelligence officials have identified that these continued and coordinated attacks have heightened in the past few months, and law enforcement officials across all agencies are working to ensure President Trump is protected and the election is free from interference." The Secret Service ramped up security around Trump this year when the Biden administration received intelligence about an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate Trump. Trump told the Daily Mail last month that he was refusing intelligence briefings so he would not be accused of leaks. The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, Steven Cheung, Harris, Biden, Ryan Routh, Kamala Harris, Joe Biden Organizations: Trump, National Intelligence, “ Intelligence, United Nations, News, Daily Mail, White Locations: Iran, United States, New York, Trump, Butler , Pennsylvania, West Palm Beach , Florida

CNN —The US government is “intensely tracking” an ongoing threat by Iran against current and former US officials, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday. Law enforcement officials have been concerned about the persistent threat of Iran potentially attempting to assassinate former Trump officials and the former president himself, multiple sources familiar with the matter have previously told CNN. US officials have not detailed the threats against current officials, and Blinken on Wednesday did not reveal further information. Congress is considering additional money for the Secret Service as part of its effort to keep the government funded ahead of a September 30 deadline. An additional $231 million for the Secret Service is included in a continuing resolution the House could vote on as soon as Wednesday.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Donald Trump, NBC’s, ” Blinken, Trump, ”, ODNI, ” Trump, Qasem Soleimani, Kamala Harris, CNN’s Evan Perez, Zachary Cohen, Natasha Bertrand, Kylie Atwood, Kristen Holmes Organizations: CNN, Trump, National Intelligence, Military, Truth Social, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Baghdad International Airport, Service Locations: Iran, United States, U.S, Baghdad

Propagandists in China, Iran and Russia are using artificial intelligence to create content designed to deceive Americans ahead of the November presidential election, federal intelligence officials said Monday. In a conference call about foreign election interference efforts organized by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, officials said the U.S. intelligence community has concluded that AI has made it easier to create disinformation, but has not fundamentally changed the way those actors operate. “The IC considers AI a malign influence accelerant, not yet a revolutionary influence tool. In other words, information operations are the threat, and AI is an enabler,” said one ODNI official, referring to the U.S. intelligence community. Russia has a much more sophisticated understanding of American politics than Iran, the intelligence official said Monday.

Persons: ”, OpenAI, Trump’s, Trump, Donald Trump’s Organizations: National Intelligence, Western, National Security Agency, NSA, Microsoft, Clemson University, Trump, Democratic, Federal, Republican Locations: China, Iran, Russia, U.S, Ukraine

☆ US intel says AI is boosting, but not revolutionizing, foreign efforts to influence the 2024 elections
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-23 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

“The (US intelligence community) considers AI a malign influence accelerant, not yet a revolutionary influence tool,” an ODNI official told reporters. Iran, for example, has used AI to generate content in Spanish about immigration, which Tehran perceives as a divisive US political issue, the ODNI official said. Russia has generated the most AI content related to the US election of any foreign power, according to the ODNI official. Foreign operatives have also embraced plenty of old-school influence techniques this election cycle, such as staging videos rather than generating them with AI. This isn’t the first general US election where foreign powers have considered deploying AI capabilities.

Persons: “, Donald Trump’s, Kamala Harris ’, Harris, Donald Trump, ” Organizations: CNN, National Intelligence, Foreign, Microsoft, Ukraine Locations: Russia, Iran, Tehran, Israel, Gaza, China, San Francisco, Russian

☆ Iranian hackers sent stolen Trump campaign info to Biden campaign associates, FBI says
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-19 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Michael-Kosnar-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Michael Kosnar | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Iranian hackers have continued to make attempts since late June to transmit nonpublic stolen material tied to Trump’s campaign to media organizations, according to Wednesday’s statement, which noted that the FBI is tracking the activity. In a statement Wednesday, Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Iranians wanted to help Vice President Kamala Harris, who replaced Biden as the Democratic nominee, "because they know President Trump will restore his tough sanctions and stand against their reign of terror." To be known as the Iran, Iran, Iran case!" Harris campaign spokesperson Morgan Finkelstein said the campaign has cooperated with law enforcement since it learned about the hacking effort. Law enforcement agencies contacted those people and the Biden campaign to make them aware of the emails, the sources said.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Joe Biden's, Trump, Karoline Leavitt, Kamala Harris, Biden, Harris, Morgan Finkelstein, We’re, Finkelstein Organizations: Democratic, FBI, National Intelligence, Infrastructure Security Agency, NBC, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Trump, Biden, NBC News, Justice Department, United Nations Locations: Iran, Russia, China, Iranian

☆ Iranian hackers sent stolen Trump campaign information to Biden campaign
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-18 | by ( Hannah Rabinowitz | Evan Perez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Iranian hackers sent unsolicited information they stole from Donald Trump’s presidential campaign to people who were affiliated with Joe Biden’s campaign over the summer, federal law enforcement officials said Wednesday. The law enforcement statement Wednesday said that the hackers’ efforts to send information to US media outlets have continued. Law enforcement officials have previously said that those efforts also included an unsuccessful attempt to hack the Biden-Harris campaign. The Iranian hackers did breach the email account of longtime Trump ally Roger Stone to target campaign staff in June, CNN has reported. Investigators believe the suspected Iranian hackers breached Stone’s account and then used that email account to try to break into the account of a senior Trump campaign official as part of a persistent effort to access campaign networks.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Joe Biden’s, “, Biden’s, Trump’s, Kamala Harris ’, ”, Biden, Morgan Finkelstein, Harris, “ We’re, Ohio Sen, JD Vance, Vance, Roger Stone, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Organizations: CNN, National Intelligence, FBI, Infrastructure Security Agency, Trump, Politico, The New York Times, Washington Post, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Investigators Locations: stoke

☆ 111 Republican former officials endorse Harris, say Trump is 'unfit to serve'
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-18 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally at the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina, on September 12, 2024. More than 100 Republican former lawmakers and officials endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, while warning that their own party's candidate, former President Donald Trump, is "unfit to serve again." The group, which includes former Trump administration officials as well as those who served under former Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. They acknowledged many Republicans' concerns about Harris and preference for Trump. Eight former members of Congress also endorsed the Democratic ticket of Harris and Minnesota Gov.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, Harris, Trump, Ronald Reagan, George H.W, Bush, George W, William Webster, John Negroponte, Carla Hills, Robert Zoellick, Donald Trump's, irresponsibly, Tim Walz Organizations: Democratic, Bojangles, Republican, U.S . Capitol, Trump, New York Times, CIA, FBI, Minnesota Gov Locations: Charlotte , North Carolina, U.S, Harris

☆ Israel planted explosives in Hezbollah's Taiwan-made pagers, Reuters reports
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-18 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The senior Lebanese security source said the group had ordered 5,000 beepers made by Taiwan-based Gold Apollo, which several sources say were brought into the country earlier this year. Israel's Mossad spy agency planted a small amount of explosives inside 5,000 Taiwan-made pagers ordered by Lebanese group Hezbollah months before Tuesday's detonations, a senior Lebanese security source and another source told Reuters. But the senior Lebanese source said the devices had been modified by Israel's spy service "at the production level." Another security source told Reuters that up to three grams of explosives were hidden in the new pagers and had gone "undetected" by Hezbollah for months. "We really got hit hard," said the senior Lebanese security source, who has direct knowledge of the group's probe into the explosions.

Persons: Israel, Tuesday's detonations, Gold, pagers, Jonathan Panikoff, government's, General Hassan Nasrallah Organizations: Hezbollah, Reuters Locations: Beirut, Lebanon, Israel, Taiwan, Iran, Lebanese, Taipei, Gaza, U.S

☆ Russian disinformation peddlers are targeting Harris-Walz campaign with fake videos, Microsoft says
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-17 | by ( Kevin Collier | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Brandy-Zadrozny-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Russian disinformation peddlers are producing videos targeting the Harris-Walz campaign with false and disparaging claims, Microsoft said Tuesday. At least three Russian disinformation actors have been working to denigrate the Harris-Walz campaign, Microsoft said. Some of the disinformation comes in the form of two videos that have been disseminated since late August, Microsoft said. NBC News has viewed an upload of that video posted to X, which Microsoft confirmed is the alleged Russian disinformation. The report comes after the U.S. accused the Kremlin of running a multifaceted disinformation campaign to boost former President Donald Trump and disparage Harris.

Persons: Harris, Walz, Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs didn’t, Darren Linvill, ” Linvill, Kamala Harris, Linvill, ”, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Trump, Vladimir Putin Organizations: Microsoft, Justice Department, Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, NBC News, Media, Clemson, Democratic, Russia’s Internet Research Agency, Tenet Media, National Intelligence, Intelligence, Biden, Ukraine, FBI, The Justice Department, Trump Locations: San Francisco, Russia, Ukraine, Iran, U.S, China

☆ Microsoft says Russian operatives are ramping up attacks on Harris campaign with fake videos
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-17 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Microsoft said Tuesday that Russian operatives have in recent weeks intensified their online attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign by producing and disseminating videos promoting “outlandish conspiracy theories” aimed at stoking US racial and political divisions. One of the inauthentic videos, which Microsoft said had been viewed millions of times, claimed to show Harris supporters attacking an attendee of a Donald Trump rally. Russian operatives promoted the latter story through a website pretending to be a local San Francisco media outlet, Microsoft researchers said. CNN has requested comment on the Microsoft report from the Harris-Walz campaign and from the Russian Embassy in Washington, DC. Tehran has conducted a covert social media activity in an effort to undercut Trump’s candidacy, US officials have said.

Persons: Kamala Harris ’, Harris, Donald Trump, denigrate, ”, haven’t, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Walz, ‘, Biden, “, ” Clint Watts Organizations: CNN, Microsoft, Russian, Ukraine, National Intelligence, Russian Embassy, Democratic, The, Department, Justice Department, Tenet Media, Monday, Trump, FBI Locations: San Francisco, Russia, Moscow, Russian, Washington , DC, Iran, Tehran

☆ TikTok says it's not spreading Chinese propaganda. The U.S. says there's a real risk. What's the truth?
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-16 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Dilanianmug.Jpg | Ken Dilanian | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +11 min

Is TikTok trying to secretly influence Americans at the behest of the Chinese government? And an analysis of the ownership structure of TikTok parent company ByteDance, obtained by NBC News, argues that the company is deeply entangled with some of China’s major government propaganda organs. The most recent one, published last month, found that TikTok suppresses anti-China content compared to YouTube and other social media platforms. In recent years, according to media reports, Chinese government entities have increasingly taken golden shares in technology companies. “This report establishes that TikTok algorithms actively suppress content critical of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) while simultaneously boosting pro-China propaganda and promoting distracting, irrelevant content,” the researchers wrote.

Persons: —, TikTok’s, China —, ’, TikTok, ” Democratic Sen, Mark Warner, — Casey Blackburn, National Intelligence —, ”, ByteDance, Blackburn, Strider, ” Strider, Wu Shugang, “ Organizations: Congress, D.C, Justice Department, NBC News, Network, Research, Rutgers University, YouTube, Department, U.S ., Appeals, District of Columbia, Supreme, Strider Technologies, Communist Party of China, ” Democratic, U.S, of Economic Security, Emerging Technology, National Intelligence, TikTok, Chinese Communist Party, CCP, Net Investment, Technology, Communist Party, China Central Radio, Television Station, Beijing State, Administration, Investment, China’s Ministry of Education Locations: United States, Washington, U.S, China, Tibet, TikTok, People’s Republic of China, Tiananmen, Hong Kong, ”, Xinjiang, Beijing

☆ CIA director saw ‘genuine risk’ of Russia using tactical nuclear weapons early in Ukraine war
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-07 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

CIA Director Bill Burns testifies next to Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines during a House (Select) Intelligence Committee hearing on diversity in the intelligence community, on Capitol Hill in Washington, October 27, 2021. CIA Director William Burns believed there was a real risk in the fall of 2022 that Russia could use nuclear weapons on the battlefield against Ukraine, though he said the West should not be intimidated by Russian President Vladimir Putin's threats. "There was a moment in the fall of 2022 when I think there was a genuine risk of the potential use of tactical nuclear weapons," Burns said. In the more than two years since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the Kremlin has regularly signaled that it would consider using nuclear weapons in the war. It allows the use of nuclear weapons in response to an attack with nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction against Russia or its allies, as well as a conventional attack that threatens the existence of the Russian state.

Persons: Bill Burns, National Intelligence Avril Haines, William Burns, Vladimir Putin's, Burns, Richard Moore, Joe Biden's, Sergey Naryshkin, We've, Putin, Sergei Ryabkov, Ryabkov Organizations: National Intelligence, Capitol, CIA, Financial, Kremlin Locations: Washington, Russia, Ukraine, Russian, Russia's Kursk, Kursk

The U.S. government has formally endorsed former President Donald Trump’s claim that Iran hacked his campaign. “We have observed increasingly aggressive Iranian activity during this election cycle, specifically involving influence operations targeting the American public and cyber operations targeting Presidential campaigns,” the agencies said in the statement. “This includes the recently reported activities to compromise former President Trump’s campaign, which the IC [intelligence community] attributes to Iran,” the statement continued. “The IC is confident that the Iranians have through social engineering and other efforts sought access to individuals with direct access to the Presidential campaigns of both political parties. A spokesperson for the campaign claimed the documents were part of an Iranian “hack-and-leak” operation to hurt Trump’s election chances.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Trump’s, Harris, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris ’, ” Iran’s, —, Trump Organizations: FBI, Infrastructure Security Agency, National Intelligence, Presidential, Google, Biden, Democratic, U.S, Politico, The New York Times, Washington, Trump Locations: Iran, U.S, Russia, United States, Islamic Republic, Iranian, Florida

☆ Suspected Iranian hackers breached personal email account of someone associated with Trump campaign, investigators believe
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-12 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | Evan Perez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The FBI and other investigators probing the apparent hack-and-leak of Trump campaign documents, which Donald Trump has blamed on Iran, suspect that the hackers were able to compromise the personal email account of someone associated with the campaign, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN. The hackers used access to the breached personal email account to try to break into the account of a senior Trump campaign official as part of a persistent effort to access campaign networks, one of the sources said. The FBI also briefed the Biden-Harris campaign in June about Iranian hackers targeting that campaign, one of the sources said. The FBI said in a statement Monday that it was investigating the reported cyberattack on the Trump campaign but declined to comment further. But the techniques used by the hackers to target the Trump campaign match those associated with Iranian hackers, according to one source familiar with the matter.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, Harris, “, Avril Haines, CNN’s Zachary Cohen Organizations: CNN, FBI, Trump, Microsoft, Biden, stoke Locations: Iran, Israel

☆ Iran steps up influence campaign aimed at US voters with fake news sites, Microsoft says
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-09 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Iranian operatives have ramped up their attempts to influence and monitor the US presidential election by creating fake news outlets targeting liberal and conservative voters and by trying to hack an unnamed presidential campaign, Microsoft said in research published late Thursday. Microsoft said it notified the campaign of the hacking attempt, but declined to say publicly which campaign it was. CNN has requested comment from the Trump campaign. The Iranian, Russian and Chinese governments routinely deny allegations of election influence operations. As president, Trump ordered the killing of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, and he withdrew from a multilateral deal aimed at curbing Tehran’s nuclear program.

Persons: Donald Trump, ” Clint Watts, ”, Kamala Harris ’, Trump, Joe Biden’s, Russia “, China “, “, Qasem Soleimani Organizations: CNN, Iranian, Microsoft, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, CIA, FBI, National Intelligence, Russian, Ukraine, Service, Department Locations: MAGA, Iran, Savannah , Georgia, Russian, Ukrainian, Trump, Russia, U.S, China

The same Chinese brokers who were laundering fentanyl proceeds were now heavily involved in marijuana trafficking across the U.S. as well. Over the past decade, Chinese organized crime groups in the U.S. quietly became the dominant money launderers for Mexican cartels. Since 2023, federal prosecutors have charged at least 31 people linked to Chinese groups accused of laundering cartel drug money. In the ensuing months, the team began to understand for the first time how the Chinese became the Mexican cartels’ go-to money launderers. The Chinese money brokers then arrange for the cartels to receive the equivalent amount in pesos or cryptocurrency in Mexico.

Persons: Ray Donovan, Joaquin “ El Chapo ” Guzman, Guzman, Donovan, ”, Michael Mezner, ‘, I’ve, El Chapo, ” Donovan, “, Christopher Urben, “ They’ve, Dennis Wilder, ” Wilder, Urben, ” Urben, Bill Bodner, Vanda Felbab, Brown, ’, They’re, Xi Jinping Organizations: Attorney’s, Central, Central District of, U.S, Division, CIA, Ministry of State Security, U.S ., National Intelligence, National Security Council, Los, Singapore —, Brookings Institution, Operations Division, DEA, Citibank Locations: U.S, East, China, El, Sinaloa, Pasadena, Calif, Central District, Central District of California, Virginia, United States, CJNG, propping, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York, Asia, Australia, Singapore, New York, Chicago, Miami, Mexico, Los Angeles County . U.S, Guangzhou, America

They spent six years behind bars until they were freed in 2022 in another prisoner exchange engineered by the Biden administration. And like the newly sprung Americans, Pereira’s first stop back in the U.S. was the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. “When you come back from something like this, you are like a bottle of Coca-Cola. And sometimes we were treated better and sometimes it was worse.”“The questions they kept asking us were, ‘How did you do it? “I didn’t realize there were so many people supporting my family and working to free me.

Persons: Evan Gershkovich, José Pereira, ”, Biden, Pereira’s, Pereira, he’d, readjust, Jorge Arreaza, Jose Angel Pereira, Gustavo Cardenas, Jorge Toledo, Jose Luis Zambrano, Tomeu, Alirio Jose Zambrano, Paul Whelan, Alsu, Vladimir Kara, Murza, “ Everybody, ” Pereira, Jason Rezaian, ” Rezaian, “, ’ ” Pereira, you’re, it’s, Gershkovich, Whelan, Kurmasheva, Rezaian, Sam Goodwin, Goodwin, Sam, I’m Organizations: Wall Street, Brooke Army Medical Center, Twitter, Venezuela's, Bolivarian National Intelligence Service, Ministry, NBC News, Washington Post, Brooke Army Medical, military’s, Medical Center Locations: American, Venezuela, U.S, San Antonio , Texas, PISA, Caracas, Germany, Washington, North Carolina, Kara

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