Washington, Sep 11 (UNI) The tech giant Microsoft has stated that it has noticed multiple cyberattacks from Russia, People's Republic of China(PRC) and Iran on individuals and organizations involved in the ongoing presidential campaigns in the United States.
The company said on its blog "In recent weeks, Microsoft has detected cyberattacks targeting people and organizations involved in the upcoming presidential election, including unsuccessful attacks on people associated with both the Trump and Biden campaigns,"
The company added that such attacks were not unexpected "The activity we are announcing today makes clear that foreign activity groups have stepped up their efforts targeting the 2020 election as had been anticipated."
Microsoft identified the attackers as hacker groups Strontium, Zirconium and Phosphorus which operate from Russia, China and Iran respectively.
Strontium's targets include US-based consultants serving Republicans and Democrats, think tanks, national and state political party organizations in the United States as well as political
parties of the United Kingdom.
As per Microsoft, Strontium was also identified in the Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report as the organization primary responsible for the alleged attacks on the Democratic presidential
campaign in 2016.
Russia has always refuted interfering in the US political system, saying the allegations have been manufactured as an excuse for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton's loss in the 2016 election.
Microsoft added that China’s Zirconium attacked high-profile individuals involved in the election, including people associated with Joe Biden’s campaign and "prominent leaders in the international affairs community."
While the company claimed that Iran’s Phosphorus continues to attack personal accounts
of people associated with the Donald Trump’s campaign.
A report by Sputnik quoted Microsoft saying that the majority of the attacks were detected and stopped by security tools inbuilt in its products. The company added that it has notified those who were targeted or compromised so they can take action to protect themselves.
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