MICROSOFT SAYS HACKERS FROM RUSSIA, CHINA AND IRAN ARE TARGETING US ELECTIONS
American technology giant Microsoft has said Russia, China, and Iran have all attempted to hack people and organizations involved in the 2020 US Presidential election.
Microsoft revealed this in a statement published on its website on Thursday, September 10.
"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, and is consistent with what the US government and others have reported," the statement read.
Microsoft said it has so far been able to ward off the threats, adding that it will guard against these attacks through notifications of such activity to impacted customers, security features, and legal and technical disruptions.
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The American tech giant said hackers operating from China identified Zirconium attempted to gain intelligence on organizations associated with the upcoming US presidential election by launching thousands of cyber-attacks resulting in nearly 150 compromises.
Microsoft said the China-based hackers targeted people closely associated with the US presidential campaigns and candidates.
They also targetted "prominent individuals in the international affairs community, academics in international affairs from more than 15 universities, and accounts tied to 18 international affairs and policy organizations including the Atlantic Council and the Stimson Center," Microsoft said.
Microsoft's statement corroborates an earlier report released by US counterintelligence which said foreign states were using "covert and overt influence measures" to sway US voters.
There had also been strong accusations that Russia interfered in the 2016 US election which ushered in America's current President Donald Trump.
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