Iranian Attempt to Hack Accounts of U.S. Presidential Campaign Officials
Researchers at Microsoft have confirmed that an attempt to hack the accounts of two officials by hackers working for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was part of increasing efforts by Iranian groups to influence the U.S. presidential elections.
Researchers at Microsoft revealed on Friday that hackers linked to the Iranian government attempted to hack the account of a “senior official” in a U.S. presidential campaign in June, following weeks after hacking the account of an American official at the county level.
-
Destroyer and U.S. fighter jets to the Gulf to confront Iranian threats
-
Washington Foils Iranian Plot to Assassinate Officials in Retaliation for Soleimani’s Killing
The researchers stated in a report, which did not provide any additional details about the identity of this “official,” that these two hacks were part of an increase in attempts by Iranian groups to influence the U.S. presidential elections scheduled for November.
The report comes in the wake of recent statements by senior U.S. intelligence officials who said they had observed that Iran was increasing its use of covert social media accounts to exploit them in an attempt to stir political divisions in the United States.
-
Who is the leader Ziyad al-Nakhalah, companion of Haniyeh before his death in Iran?
-
U.S. Weapons for Israel Since the Gaza War: By the Numbers
In a statement, Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York said its cyber capabilities are “defensive and proportional to the threats it faces,” and that it does not plan to launch cyberattacks.
In response to the accusations in Microsoft’s report, the Iranian mission added, “The U.S. presidential elections are a domestic matter in which Iran does not interfere.”
The report specified that a group managed by an intelligence unit of the Revolutionary Guard had sent a phishing email to a senior official in a presidential campaign, and that another group linked to the Revolutionary Guard had hacked the account of a user working under the principle of least privilege at the county government level.
It noted that this activity seemed part of a broader campaign by Iranian groups to gather intelligence on U.S. political campaigns and target swing states in the United States.
The report added that the county-level official’s account was hacked in May as part of a larger “password spraying” operation, where hackers use common or leaked passwords en masse on multiple accounts to try to breach one.
The report emphasized that the hackers were unable to access any other accounts through this breach, and the targets were notified.
Reports suggest that Iran views a victory by Republican candidate Donald Trump as increasing the pressures it faces, particularly as he was behind the tightening of sanctions on Tehran over the nuclear issue.
Iran has denied the accuracy of allegations in U.S. media reports suggesting Tehran was involved in a plot to assassinate the former U.S. president last month.
According to reports, U.S. authorities received information from a “human source” a few weeks ago about a plot devised by Tehran against the former president, prompting the Secret Service, responsible for protecting top U.S. political figures, to increase security measures for the Republican billionaire.
Reports also discussed last week an Iranian plot to assassinate U.S. government officials, led by a Pakistani, in retaliation for the killing of Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani.
