The technology giant "Microsoft" (Microsoft) said last night that Russian agents targeted the campaign of US presidential candidate Kamala Harris, DPA reported, BTA reported.
"In the past two months, "Microsoft" observed a clear change in the tactics of Russian influence operations, reflecting the changing political environment in the United States," the general manager of Microsoft's Threat Analysis Center wrote in a company blog. Clint Watts.
According to "Microsoft" Russia has targeted the Harris campaign and agents are "distributing fake videos designed to sow discord and spread disinformation" for her. The focus on the Harris campaign represents a "strategic move by Russian agents to exploit any perceived weaknesses in the new candidates," Watts added.
Harris replaced US President Joe Biden as the candidate of the Democratic Party after the 81-year-old Biden withdrew from the presidential race in July due to his disastrous performance in the debates against Republican candidate Donald Trump, DPA recalls.
"As the election approaches, we should expect that Russian agents will continue to use cyberproxies and hacktivist groups to spread their messages through media sites and social channels aimed at spreading divisive political content, staged videos and AI-enhanced propaganda," said Microsoft.
In August, US intelligence agencies said Iran was responsible for a hacking attack on Trump's presidential campaign. "Microsoft" said a China-linked influencer also produced videos criticizing the Biden administration and the Harris campaign.
"Together these three countries – Iran, China and Russia – demonstrate the complexity of foreign interference facing the United States, as well as the need for the public to be vigilant about these evolving threats," Microsoft said. "As we have said before, our goal in publishing these reports is to promote literacy and protect institutions from any form of foreign interference,", adds the American company.