Iranian Hackers Charged for Targeting Trump Campaign in 2024 Election Interference

Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election

Washington (AFP) - Iran is ramping up efforts to interfere with the US election with fake "news" websites and hackers targeting Donald Trump, American officials and researchers say, as the Republican nominee reported threats on his life from the Islamic republic. Iran, long known for orchestrating clandestine influence operations against its adversaries, has emerged as a top disinformation threat facing the November 5 presidential vote. The United States unveiled charges on Friday against three Iranians over a "wide-ranging hacking campaign," with Attorney General Merrick Garland saying they were attempting to undermine Trump's election effort. A slew of fake sites masquerading as news outlets are meanwhile fabricating reports critical of Trump, disinformation researchers said, with much of the content apparently created using cheap and widely available generative AI tools. The fake outlets reflect "the depth and coordinated planning of Iranian influence operations" to sway US voters, Dina Sadek, a fellow at the Atlantic Council's Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab), told AFP. The DFRLab released a report this week that warned that "government-led Iranian operations have increased substantially in the lead-up to the 2024 elections." One such site spotlighted by the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center (MTAC) was NioThinker, which hails itself as the "go-to destination for insightful, progressive news." In recent months, the site's focus has "increasingly shifted to the US elections," with its content including "sarcastic, long-winded articles insulting Trump," MTAC said. The Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) highlighted another Iranian-made site -- Afromajority -- which it said targets African American voters with content that is often critical of Trump and sympathetic to Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris. Among a network of 19 websites publishing Iranian propaganda, at least eight English-language portals are heavily focused on the US election, with many of them targeting key voting groups such as African Americans and Hispanic groups, the Washington-based FDD think tank said. 'Grave' threat Another site spotlighted by researchers was Westland Sun, which appears focused on issues related to Muslims in Michigan -- a swing state home to a large Arab-American population. MTAC said Iranian actors had also launched sites targeting conservative voter groups, including Savannah Time, which was focused on Republican politics and LGBTQ issues. The sites, Sadek said, are "part of a broader multi-language" Iranian influence operation in place since at least 2020. Trump said Wednesday there were "big threats" to his life posed by Iran. Tehran has rejected accusations that it is trying to kill the Republican. On July 13, after a gunman wounded Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania, US media reported that authorities had received intelligence on an alleged Iranian plot against him. US officials have also warned of efforts by Russia to meddle in the election. Earlier this month, MTAC said Russian operatives were ramping up disinformation operations to malign Harris's campaign by disseminating conspiracy-laden videos. That followed accusations from the US government that Russia's state news agency RT was seeking to influence the election, as Washington imposed sanctions on its top editors.

Three Iranians charged with hacking Donald Trump's campaign

Stefania Palma in Washington and Hannah Murphy in San Francisco US federal prosecutors have alleged that three hackers working for the Iranian government sought to undermine Donald Trump's presidential campaign and sway the 2024 general election. The Department of Justice on Friday unsealed an indictment against three Iranian nationals they said were employed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Tehran's armed force, which Washington has designated as a terrorist organisation. "There are few actors in this world that pose as grave a threat to the national security of the United States as does Iran, a state sponsor of terrorism," US attorney-general Merrick Garland said on Friday. The indictment comes as Washington fends off a series of attempts by foreign adversaries, such as Iran and Russia, to meddle with the 2024 US presidential election, which is just weeks away in November. "[W]e are seeing increasingly aggressive Iranian cyber activity during this election cycle," Garland said. Tehran has sought to sow division in US politics through hacking and influence operations, including sending stolen material from Trump's campaign to US media outlets and creating covert news sites targeting voters with disinformation. Media outlets have refused to publish the hacked material, which allegedly includes an opposition research dossier on JD Vance, now Trump's vice-presidential candidate. One independent journalist who on Thursday appeared to share one of the unverified documents on X was suspended from the platform. The defendants, who reside in Iran, were charged with computer and wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organisation. They are not in custody. According to the indictment, Masoud Jalili, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri and Yaser Balaghi between 2020 and at least September 2024 deployed a "wide-ranging" hacking scheme that targeted current and former US government officials, journalists, non-governmental organisations and individuals linked to presidential campaigns. The defendants, who could not be reached for comment, allegedly used emails that impersonated US government officials to launch their campaign. Targets included a former senior CIA official, a homeland security adviser to an ex-US president and a former US ambassador to Israel. The indictment does not name specific presidential candidates. Descriptions suggest the trio stole material on debate preparation and potential vice-presidential candidates as well as emails from Trump's campaign and sought to share them with individuals they thought were associated with US President Joe Biden's team, before his withdrawal from the presidential race. The defendants allegedly emailed some documents to a person linked to Biden's campaign, saying: "I hate [US Presidential Campaign 1's candidate, believed to be Trump] and strongly don't want to see his second term. So I'm going to pass some materials along to you that would be useful to defeat him." The individual did not reply. US authorities have indicated that Iran does not want another Trump presidency, as he has vowed to take a tough stance against Tehran and stand in the way of it acquiring a nuclear weapon. The 2020 assassination of Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani also remains a hot-button issue. Experts fear that new tools, such as generative artificial intelligence, will help fuel disinformation campaigns into the November vote. Russia has also ramped up its influence operations. The DoJ is seizing dozens of websites allegedly used by Moscow to spread disinformation ahead of the general election.

Iranian hackers charged in alleged targeting of Trump campaign, sources say

Federal prosecutors have secured criminal charges against multiple Iranian hackers for allegedly targeting members of former President Donald Trump's presidential campaign as part of a malicious cyber scheme, multiple sources familiar with the investigation confirmed to CBS News. The Iranian hackers were indicted by a grand jury on Thursday and the charges could be announced as early as Friday, the sources said. The nature of the allegations and the names of the defendants were unknown as charging documents remain under seal. The exact number of people charged was also not confirmed. ABC News and Politico first reported on elements of the charges. A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment on CBS News' reporting. A spokesperson for the Trump campaign also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Once publicly announced, the charges will mark an escalation in the federal government's work to combat Iran's alleged efforts to interfere in the 2024 presidential election. Federal officials have warned Iran is seeking to undermine Trump's campaign. The FBI launched probes earlier this summer after both the Trump and then-Biden campaigns experienced attempted phishing schemes targeting people associated with the candidates, sources told CBS News in August. Last week, federal officials with the FBI and other intelligence agencies released a statement confirming, "Iranian malicious cyber actors in late June and early July sent unsolicited emails to individuals then associated with President Biden's campaign that contained an excerpt taken from stolen, non-public material from former President Trump's campaign as text in the emails. There is currently no information indicating those recipients replied." The statement went on to say that "Iranian malicious cyber actors have continued their efforts since June to send stolen, non-public material associated with former President Trump's campaign to U.S. media organizations...Foreign actors are increasing their election influence activities as we approach November." Iran's United Nations mission previously denied it had plans to interfere or launch cyberattacks in the U.S. presidential election, telling CBS News in a statement last week that "the Islamic Republic of Iran does not engage in the internal uproars or electoral controversies of the United States," adding that "Iran neither has any motive nor intent to interfere in the U.S. election; and, it therefore categorically repudiates such accusations." Trump's campaign revealed last month that it had been hacked and said Iranian actors were involved in stealing and distributing sensitive internal documents to members of the press. FBI agents worked with both Google and Microsoft -- two major tech firms and providers of email services -- to dig into the apparent spearphishing attacks targeting those close to both presidential campaigns, according to two people familiar with the probe. A report published by Microsoft earlier this summer revealed Iran is evolving its tactics to affect the upcoming election. Trump and former members of his administration have been increased targets of Iranian actors following the killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in 2020. Some former officials received increased protection because of death threats, and in July, federal prosecutors filed charges against a Pakistani national with ties to Iran for allegedly planning to assassinate American politicians, including possibly Trump. Iran is not the only foreign adversary that U.S. officials say is seeking to undermine the upcoming presidential election. Intelligence agencies have warned Russia and China have launched cyber campaigns of their own to sew chaos, with Russia allegedly seeking to damage Vice President Kamala Harris' bid for the White House. Speaking at an event hosted by the Atlantic Council on Thursday, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said, "We are seeing more threat actors, more threat actors getting into the game" of election interference, exacerbated by advancements in artificial intelligence. The goal, according to Monaco, is to "sow discord, sow distrust in our election system and undermine confidence in our democratic process."

US Charges Iranian Hackers For Interfering In 2024 Presidential Election

Ahead of the 2024 US presidential election, the Justice Department has unveiled charges against three Iranian hackers accused of disrupting Donald Trump's campaign. What Happened: The U.S. Justice Department unsealed charges against three Iranian hackers for disrupting Donald Trump's presidential campaign, Reuters reported on Friday. The accused are members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps. They allegedly targeted the Nov. 5 election between former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Iran dismissed the accusations as baseless. The Justice Department has also targeted Russian election interference, charging and sanctioning state media employees for funding pro-Trump influencers. See Also: Mark Cuban Fires Back At Criticism Of Kamala Harris Tax Policies Attorney General Merrick Garland stated that the hackers -- Masoud Jalili, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri, and Yasar Balaghi -- aimed to undermine Trump's campaign. "We are seeing increasingly aggressive Iranian cyber activity during this election cycle," Garland said. The indictment alleges the hackers used fake email accounts to deceive campaign officials, stealing emails and internal documents, which were then leaked to the media and Joe Biden's campaign. Charges include wire fraud, identity theft, and computer fraud. The U.S. Treasury Department also imposed sanctions on the three men and other Revolutionary Guard members. The hackers are currently in Iran, out of U.S. law enforcement's reach. Garland emphasized the Justice Department's commitment to pursuing these individuals indefinitely. Why It Matters: The charges against the Iranian hackers come amid heightened concerns over foreign interference in U.S. elections. In August, Trump's campaign confirmed a security breach, believed to be orchestrated by foreign entities hostile to the U.S. This breach included the theft of internal documents, which were later leaked to the media. Furthermore, Meta Platforms Inc. also thwarted an attempt by Iranian hackers to target both Trump and Biden's campaigns via WhatsApp accounts linked to the hacking group APT42. This group has been identified by tech giants like Google as an "Iranian state-sponsored cyber espionage actor." In addition, U.S. intelligence agencies revealed that Iran tried to share hacked Trump campaign data with Biden's team. According to a joint statement by the FBI, ODNI, and CISA, Iranian cyber actors sent unsolicited emails containing stolen Trump campaign material to individuals associated with Biden's campaign. Moreover, OpenAI uncovered and dismantled a covert Iranian influence operation using ChatGPT to manipulate public opinion during the 2024 elections. The operation, named Storm-2035, produced content on U.S. politics and the presidential election, shared via social media and websites posing as news outlets. Read Next: Trump Accuses Zelenskyy Of Making 'Nasty Little Dispersions' After Canceled Meeting Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Photo courtesy: Shutterstock Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

U.S. charges 3 Iranian hackers who allegedly targeted Trump campaign

Federal prosecutors have charged three Iranian hackers for allegedly targeting members of former President Donald Trump's presidential campaign as part of a "wide-ranging" malicious cyber scheme, according to a newly unsealed indictment. The three defendants -- identified in the indictment as Masoud Jalili, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri and Yasar Balaghi -- are all members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Prosecutors said they executed a "wide-ranging hacking campaign that used spearphishing and social engineering techniques to target and compromise the accounts of current and former U.S. government officials, members of the media, nongovernmental organizations, and individuals associated with U.S. political campaigns." The 37-page indictment, handed down by a grand jury in Washington, D.C., charges the men with 18 counts, including wire fraud, identity theft, conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist organization and hacking conspiracy. The charges mark an escalation in the federal government's work to combat Iran's alleged efforts to interfere in the 2024 presidential election. The State Department quickly offered a $10 million reward for information about the three defendants, and the Treasury Department unveiled new sanctions targeting seven people tied to the Iranian hacking effort. Charging documents do not name the campaign the defendants allegedly targeted, but U.S. officials have said consistently that Iran is seeking to undermine Trump's bid for the White House. Context included in the indictment makes clear that the Trump campaign was the target of the recent efforts. "There are few actors in this world that pose as grave a threat to the national security of the United States as does Iran," Attorney General Merrick Garland said Friday. "The message of the U.S. government is clear: the American people, not a foreign power, decide the outcome of our country's election." The indictment laid out a sprawling cyber campaign in which the defendants sought to hack into American computers and steal data. The men worked to "stoke discord, erode confidence in the U.S. electoral process" and "advance the malign activities of the IRGC," the indictment alleged. Prosecutors said the hackers -- all of whom reside in Iran -- began their work as early as January 2020, after the U.S. killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike in Baghdad. The hackers allegedly turned their sights to Trump's political campaign in May of this year. Investigators said they gained access to people associated with the campaign via spearphishing emails and stole private documents and emails, which they then tried to leak to the media and "individuals that the Conspirators believed were associated with" another presidential campaign. The indictment does not name the other presidential campaign, but its description matches that of President Biden before he dropped out of the race. Garland said Friday that both campaigns cooperated with the investigation and there is no indication anyone from the Biden campaign replied to the hackers' messages. Multiple news outlets have also reported receiving confidential Trump campaign material that appeared to have been stolen. A Harris-Walz campaign official told CBS News "the materials were not used." Morgan Finklestein, a national security spokesperson for Harris' election bid, said in a statement that the campaign cooperated with the investigation. "We're not aware of any material being sent directly to the campaign; a few individuals were targeted on their personal emails with what looked like a spam or phishing attempt," Fiknlestein said. "We condemn in the strongest terms any effort by foreign actors to interfere in U.S. elections including this unwelcome and unacceptable malicious activity. Broadly, we have robust cybersecurity measures in place, and personnel are trained to be vigilant against potentially malicious content." Described in the indictment as skilled computer hackers with years of experience, the defendants worked for a paramilitary branch of Iran's IRGC known as the Basij. Prosecutors said they launched a years-long campaign to target the email accounts of current and former government officials, including those who worked for the White House, Justice Department, Pentagon and CIA. The indictment detailed the advanced methods the hackers allegedly used to target their American victims, including the deployment of static IP addresses, the creation of spoof login pages and the use of stolen multi-factor authentication codes to get access to information. In many cases, according to charging documents, the hackers used Iranian infrastructure to create fake U.S. email accounts to communicate with their victims and gain access to their files. "After establishing their unauthorized access ... the [defendants] made efforts to conceal their presence to maintain long-term, persistent access," investigators wrote. They "stole data and campaign material from the victim accounts ... and, in some instances, later distributed stolen campaign materials." On May 23, 2024, the Iranian hackers were said to have targeted Trump's campaign. By June, they had allegedly gained access to the email accounts of at least two unnamed individuals associated with the campaign. Later that month, on June 27, the defendants sent a message to the personal account of an individual they believed to be associated with the Biden campaign. "I'm the one who has access to [Trump's campaign], but I hate [Trump] and strongly don't want to see his second term," the hackers allegedly wrote. "I'm going to pass some materials to you that would be useful to defeat him." Investigators said the recipient of the email did not reply to the message. According to the indictment, other alleged attempts to contact the Biden campaign also went unanswered. Earlier this summer, on July 22, the Iranian hackers shifted their focus to members of the media in an attempt to deploy stolen campaign material about "potential vice presidential candidates." According to prosecutors, the alleged conduct continued into the following month. In a statement released Friday, FBI Director Christopher Wray characterized the activities as "attempts by a hostile foreign government to steal campaign information from one presidential candidate, and shop it around to that candidate's opponent and the media." The FBI launched investigations earlier this summer after people associated with the Trump and Biden campaigns were the targets of attempted phishing schemes, sources told CBS News in August. Last week, federal officials with the FBI and other intelligence agencies released a statement confirming that "Iranian malicious cyber actors in late June and early July sent unsolicited emails to individuals then associated with President Biden's campaign that contained an excerpt taken from stolen, non-public material from former President Trump's campaign as text in the emails." The statement went on to say that "Iranian malicious cyber actors have continued their efforts since June to send stolen, non-public material associated with former President Trump's campaign to U.S. media organizations. ... Foreign actors are increasing their election influence activities as we approach November." Iran's United Nations mission previously denied it was interfering or launching cyberattacks in the U.S. presidential election, telling CBS News in a statement last week that "the Islamic Republic of Iran does not engage in the internal uproars or electoral controversies of the United States." The statement added that Iran "neither has any motive nor intent to interfere in the U.S. election; and, it therefore categorically repudiates such accusations." Trump's campaign revealed last month that it had been hacked and said Iranian actors were involved in stealing and distributing sensitive internal documents to members of the press. FBI agents worked with both Google and Microsoft to dig into the apparent spearphishing attacks targeting those close to both presidential campaigns, according to two people familiar with the probe. A report published by Microsoft earlier this summer revealed Iran is evolving its tactics to affect the upcoming election. Trump and former members of his administration have been targets of Iranian actors following the killing of Soleimani in 2020. Some former officials were given increased protection due to threats against their lives, and in July, federal prosecutors filed charges against a Pakistani national with ties to Iran for allegedly planning to assassinate American politicians, including possibly Trump. Iran is not the only foreign adversary that U.S. officials say is seeking to undermine the upcoming presidential election. Intelligence agencies have warned Russia and China have launched cyber campaigns of their own to sow chaos, with Russia allegedly seeking to damage Vice President Kamala Harris' bid for the White House. Speaking at an event hosted by the Atlantic Council on Thursday, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said the U.S. is "seeing more threat actors getting into the game" of election interference, fueled by advancements in artificial intelligence. The goal, according to Monaco, is to "sow discord, sow distrust in our election system and undermine confidence in our democratic process."

U.S. charges three Iranian nationals in Trump campaign hack

Federal prosecutors on Friday announced criminal charges against three Iranian nationals in connection with a recent hack of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's campaign and other cyberattacks. The three "malicious cyber actors," who were employed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, engaged in "a wide-ranging hacking campaign" that also targeted current and former government officials, media figures and non-governmental organizations, according to an indictment filed in Washington, D.C., federal court. The charges come amid heightened scrutiny about how foreign actors, especially Iran, China and Russia, are trying to influence the American presidential race between Trump and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. U.S. intelligence officials said Monday that those foreign interference efforts include using artificial intelligence to spread disinformation and manipulate public opinion, NBC News reported. Officials have said that Iran is working to hurt Trump's campaign, while Russia prefers Trump, who has declined to say he wants Ukraine to win its war against invading Kremlin forces. China, meanwhile, has pushed anti-democracy influence operations but has not clearly sided with either the Republican or Democratic tickets, officials have said.