In an alarming development, Microsoft has revealed that Russian government-linked efforts to influence the upcoming U.S. presidential election have now turned their attention to Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign. This shift in strategy by foreign adversaries comes shortly after Harris replaced President Joe Biden on the ticket.

According to findings published by Microsoft on Tuesday, two "Kremlin-aligned" groups have been actively spreading fake videos designed to discredit Harris and her campaign. These videos, which have garnered millions of views, depict Harris supporters attacking former President Donald Trump's supporters and even feature an actor portraying Harris in a fictitious hit-and-run incident. To lend credibility, one of the videos was disseminated through a fabricated San Francisco news outlet.

In addition to the videos, the groups posted content on social media platforms X and Telegram, showcasing a counterfeit New York City billboard that promoted misleading Harris policies. Microsoft's analysis reveals that this particular video garnered over 100,000 views within hours of its posting.

These findings come shortly after the U.S. Justice Department took down more than 30 websites associated with Russian election influence efforts. However, Microsoft experts have already noticed attempts by these foreign actors to create new sites and transfer content to them.

Clint Watts, the general manager of Microsoft's Threat Analysis Center, emphasized that this strategic shift towards targeting the Harris campaign reflects a calculated move by Russian actors, aiming to exploit perceived vulnerabilities in the new candidates.

While Russia remains a prominent contributor to foreign interference, Microsoft also detected efforts from a China-linked group known as Storm-1852, spreading critical content of both Harris and Biden on social media. However, many individuals associated with this group went silent after their content was exposed. Earlier this month, Chinese influence groups were identified spreading divisive content exploiting societal issues in the United States.

Microsoft warns that such activity is likely to persist in the coming months, particularly from Russia. The tech company predicts that Moscow may employ hacking groups to amplify their online messages, possibly utilizing propaganda created through artificial intelligence.

This latest threat report released by Microsoft underscores the ongoing challenges faced by the upcoming U.S. elections. Previously, the company attributed targeting of a U.S. presidential campaign to Iran, which POLITICO reported as being directed towards Trump's campaign. Vigilance against foreign interference remains crucial as the nation approaches November.