US Sanctions Iranian and Russian Entities for AI-Powered Election Interference

US Sanctions Iran, Russia Over Election Deepfakes, Influence Campaigns

The US has imposed new sanctions on Iranian and Russian entities that attempted to interfere in the 2024 election, the Treasury and State Departments announced on Tuesday. The sanctions focus on a subordinate of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps called the Cognitive Design Production Center (CPDC), as well as a Moscow-based affiliate of the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) called the Center for Geopolitical Expertise (CGE) and its director, Valery Mikhaylovich Korovin. "These actors sought to stoke sociopolitical tensions and undermine our election institutions during the 2024 US general election," the State Department said in a statement. The sanctions "prohibit all transactions by US persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons." Treasury accuses Iran's CDPC of running "influence operations" in the lead-up to the election. Microsoft flagged something similar in an October report, which stated that Iranian hackers were persuading Americans to boycott the elections over the candidates' support for Israel via AI-generated fake news websites. Treasury also says Moscow-based CGE ordered and financed the creation of candidate deepfakes, which includes a manipulated video that produced "baseless accusations concerning a 2024 vice presidential candidate." The agency didn't specify the candidate or the video, but according to the New York Post, it is most likely referring to a deepfake on X that shows a man accusing Governor Tim Walz of sexually assaulting him as a child. X is yet to take down that AI-generated video even though the person depicted in the clip came forward to say it's a fake. According to the Treasury, the CGE also used "generative AI tools to quickly create disinformation that would be distributed across a massive network of websites designed to imitate legitimate news outlets to create false corroboration between the stories, as well as to obfuscate their Russian origin. "The GRU provided CGE and a network of US-based facilitators with financial support to: build and maintain its AI-support server; maintain a network of at least 100 websites used in its disinformation operations; and contribute to the rent cost of the apartment where the server is housed," the Treasury adds. "The Governments of Iran and Russia have targeted our election processes and institutions and sought to divide the American people through targeted disinformation campaigns," Acting Under-Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith said in a statement. "The United States will remain vigilant against adversaries who would undermine our democracy."

Iranian and Russian Entities Sanctioned for Election Interference Using AI and Cyber Tactics

The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Tuesday leveled sanctions against two entities in Iran and Russia for their attempts to interfere with the November 2024 presidential election. The federal agency said the entities - a subordinate organization of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and a Moscow-based affiliate of Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) - sought to influence the electoral outcome and divide the American people through targeted disinformation campaigns. "As affiliates of the IRGC and GRU, these actors aimed to stoke socio-political tensions and influence the U.S. electorate during the 2024 U.S. election," it noted in a press release. In August 2024, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) jointly accused Iran of attempting to undermine democratic processes, including by orchestrating cyber operations designed to gain access to sensitive information related to the elections. Around the same time, Meta revealed that it blocked WhatsApp accounts used by Iranian threat actors to target individuals in Israel, Palestine, Iran, the U.K., and the U.S. The campaign was attributed to an IRGC-affiliated hacking crew codenamed Charming Kitten. A month later, U.S. federal prosecutors unsealed criminal charges against three Iranian nationals allegedly employed with the IRGC for targeting current and former government personnel to siphon sensitive data. In tandem, the Treasury Department also sanctioned seven individuals for conducting spear-phishing, hack-and-leak operations, as well as interfering with political campaigns in 2020 and 2024. The latest Iranian entity to fall under the purview of U.S. sanctions is the Cognitive Design Production Center (CDPC), a subsidiary of the IRGC that's said to have planned influence operations designed to incite socio-political tensions in the lead up to the 2024 elections. Also sanctioned by OFAC is a Moscow-based entity called the Center for Geopolitical Expertise (CGE), which works directly with a GRU unit responsible for sabotage, political interference operations, and cyber warfare aimed at the West. It was founded in late December 2020 as a non-profit by Aleksandr Dugin, who was previously sanctioned by the U.S. in March 2015 for being "complicit in actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, stability, or sovereignty or territorial integrity of Ukraine." CGE, per the Treasury Department, "directs and subsidizes the creation and publication of deepfakes and circulated disinformation," using generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools to create synthetic content at scale and distribute them across bogus websites masquerading as legitimate news outlets. "CGE built a server that hosts the generative AI tools and associated AI-created content, in order to avoid foreign web-hosting services that would block their activity," the agency said. "The GRU provided CGE and a network of U.S.-based facilitators with financial support to: build and maintain its AI-support server; maintain a network of at least 100 websites used in its disinformation operations; and contribute to the rent cost of the apartment where the server is housed." Valery Mikhaylovich Korovin, a GRU officer, is alleged to have carried out these clandestine influence operations targeting the U.S. elections since at least 2024, coordinating financial support from the GRU to his employees and U.S.-based facilitators. "The Government of the Russian Federation employs an array of tools, including covert foreign malign influence campaigns and illicit cyber activities, to undermine the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States and its allies and partners globally," the Treasury said. "The Kremlin has increasingly adapted its efforts to hide its involvement by developing a vast ecosystem of Russian proxy websites, fake online personas, and front organizations that give the false appearance of being independent news sources unconnected to the Russian state."

U.S. imposes Russia, Iran sanctions over attempted election interference

The Treasury Department accused a Russian entity of having "manipulated a video" about a vice-presidential candidate. The Treasury Department announced new sanctions Tuesday on Iranian and Russian entities accused of trying to interfere with the U.S. 2024 elections, including by allegedly using artificial intelligence to disseminate false information. In its statement, Treasury said it was imposing sanctions on both a subsidiary of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and an affiliate of Russia's military intelligence agency over their efforts to "stoke sociopolitical tensions and influence the U.S. electorate during the 2024 election." Treasury's statement also said the Russian entity used AI tools to "quickly create disinformation that would be distributed across a massive network" of fake news websites and produced "baseless accusations" about a 2024 vice-presidential candidate, whom Treasury declined to identify. Although the sanctions target relatively minor entities and are unlikely to have major economic effects, they reflect the deteriorating relationship between the United States and two of its chief geopolitical adversaries. President Joe Biden is currently weighing much more far-reaching sanctions against Russia's energy sector, while President-elect Donald Trump is expected to try to significantly increase economic pressure on Tehran. "The Governments of Iran and Russia have targeted our election processes and institutions and sought to divide the American people through targeted disinformation campaigns," Bradley Smith, Treasury's acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement. "The United States will remain vigilant against adversaries who would undermine our democracy." Sanctions were imposed on the Center for Geopolitical Expertise (CGE), a Moscow-based group founded by Aleksandr Dugin, whom Treasury had already sanctioned in 2015. Treasury accused the center of working closely with the Russian military intelligence service that "oversees sabotage, political interference operations and cyberwarfare" against the West. In his statement, Treasury said the intelligence service both directed and provided financial support to the center to influence the 2024 presidential election. With that support, Treasury said, the center maintained a network of "at least 100 websites" for its "disinformation operations," through which it pushed false information. "CGE and its personnel used generative AI tools to quickly create disinformation that would be distributed across a massive network of websites designed to imitate legitimate news outlets to create false corroboration between the stories, as well as to obfuscate their Russian origin," the Treasury statement said. The Russian center also "manipulated a video" to "produce baseless accusations concerning a 2024 vice-presidential candidate," Treasury said. Treasury did not identify the video. Microsoft researchers said this fall that Russian entities had circulated false videos on social media in which an actor accused Vice President Kamala Harris of a nonexistent hit-and-run. The sanctions also target the Cognitive Design Production Center, a subsidiary of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, over its "influence operations," according to the Treasury Department. The Justice Department previously charged three men with an alleged hack-and-leak attack against Trump's presidential campaign.

U.S. Imposes Sanctions On Russian, Iranian Groups Over Disinformation Targeting American Voters

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The United States has imposed sanctions on two groups linked to Iranian and Russian efforts to target American voters with disinformation ahead of this year's election. Treasury officials announced the sanctions Tuesday, alleging that the two organizations sought to stoke divisions among Americans before November's vote. U.S. intelligence has accused both governments of spreading disinformation, including fake videos, news stories and social media posts, designed to manipulate voters and undermine trust in U.S. elections. "The governments of Iran and Russia have targeted our election processes and institutions and sought to divide the American people through targeted disinformation campaigns," Bradley T. Smith, Treasury's acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement. Authorities said the Russian group, the Moscow-based Center for Geopolitical Expertise, oversaw the creation, financing and dissemination of disinformation about American candidates, including deepfake videos created using artificial intelligence. In addition to the group itself, the new sanctions apply to its director, who authorities say worked closely with Russian military intelligence agents also overseeing cyberattacks and sabotage against the West. Authorities say the center used AI to quickly manufacture fake videos about American candidates created scores of fake news websites designed to look legitimate and even paid U.S. web companies to create pro-Russian content. The Iranian group, the Cognitive Design Production Center, is a subsidiary of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, U.S. officials said, which the United States has designated a foreign terrorist organization. Officials say the center worked since at least 2023 to incite political tensions in the United States. U.S. intelligence agencies have blamed the Iranian government for seeking to encourage protests in the U.S. over Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. Iran also has been accused of hacking into the accounts of several top current and former U.S. officials, including senior members of Donald Trump's campaign. In the months ahead of the election, U.S. intelligence officials said Russia, Iran and China all sought to undermine confidence in U.S. democracy. They also concluded that Russia sought to prop up the ultimate victor Trump, who has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, suggested cutting funds to Ukraine and repeatedly criticized the NATO military alliance. Iran, meanwhile, sought to oppose Trump's candidacy, officials said. The president-elect's first administration ended a nuclear deal with Iran, reimposed sanctions and ordered the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, an act prompting Iran's leaders to vow revenge. Russian and Iranian officials have rejected claims that they sought to influence the outcome of the 2024 election. "Russia has not and does not interfere with the internal affairs of other countries," a spokesperson for Russia's embassy in Washington wrote in an email Tuesday. A message left with officials from Iran was not immediately returned Tuesday.

US imposes sanctions on Russian and Iranian groups over disinformation targeting American voters

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The United States has imposed sanctions on two groups linked to Iranian and Russian efforts to target American voters with disinformation ahead of this year's election. Treasury officials announced the sanctions Tuesday, alleging that the two organizations sought to stoke divisions among Americans before November's vote. U.S. intelligence has accused both governments of spreading disinformation, including fake videos, news stories and social media posts, designed to manipulate voters and undermine trust in U.S. elections. "The governments of Iran and Russia have targeted our election processes and institutions and sought to divide the American people through targeted disinformation campaigns," Bradley T. Smith, Treasury's acting undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said in a statement. Authorities said the Russian group, the Moscow-based Center for Geopolitical Expertise, oversaw the creation, financing and dissemination of disinformation about American candidates, including deepfake videos created using artificial intelligence. In addition to the group itself, the new sanctions apply to its director, who authorities say worked closely with Russian military intelligence agents also overseeing cyberattacks and sabotage against the West. Authorities say the center used AI to quickly manufacture fake videos about American candidates created scores of fake news websites designed to look legitimate and even paid U.S. web companies to create pro-Russian content. The Iranian group, the Cognitive Design Production Center, is a subsidiary of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, U.S. officials said, which the United States has designated a foreign terrorist organization. Officials say the center worked since at least 2023 to incite political tensions in the United States. U.S. intelligence agencies have blamed the Iranian government for seeking to encourage protests in the U.S. over Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. Iran also has been accused of hacking into the accounts of several top current and former U.S. officials, including senior members of Donald Trump's campaign. In the months ahead of the election, U.S. intelligence officials said Russia, Iran and China all sought to undermine confidence in U.S. democracy. They also concluded that Russia sought to prop up the ultimate victor Trump, who has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, suggested cutting funds to Ukraine and repeatedly criticized the NATO military alliance. Iran, meanwhile, sought to oppose Trump's candidacy, officials said. The president-elect's first administration ended a nuclear deal with Iran, reimposed sanctions and ordered the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, an act prompting Iran's leaders to vow revenge. Russian and Iranian officials have repeatedly rejected claims that they sought to influence the outcome of the 2024 election. Messages left with officials from both countries were not immediately returned Tuesday.

US Imposes Sanctions on Russian and Iranian Groups Over Disinformation Targeting American Voters

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The United States has imposed sanctions on two groups linked to Iranian and Russian efforts to target American voters with disinformation ahead of this year's election. Treasury officials announced the sanctions Tuesday, alleging that the two organizations sought to stoke divisions among Americans before November's vote. U.S. intelligence has accused both governments of spreading disinformation, including fake videos, news stories and social media posts, designed to manipulate voters and undermine trust in U.S. elections. "The governments of Iran and Russia have targeted our election processes and institutions and sought to divide the American people through targeted disinformation campaigns," Bradley T. Smith, Treasury's acting undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said in a statement. Authorities said the Russian group, the Moscow-based Center for Geopolitical Expertise, oversaw the creation, financing and dissemination of disinformation about American candidates, including deepfake videos created using artificial intelligence. In addition to the group itself, the new sanctions apply to its director, who authorities say worked closely with Russian military intelligence agents also overseeing cyberattacks and sabotage against the West. Authorities say the center used AI to quickly manufacture fake videos about American candidates created scores of fake news websites designed to look legitimate and even paid U.S. web companies to create pro-Russian content. The Iranian group, the Cognitive Design Production Center, is a subsidiary of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, U.S. officials said, which the United States has designated a foreign terrorist organization. Officials say the center worked since at least 2023 to incite political tensions in the United States. U.S. intelligence agencies have blamed the Iranian government for seeking to encourage protests in the U.S. over Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. Iran also has been accused of hacking into the accounts of several top current and former U.S. officials, including senior members of Donald Trump's campaign. In the months ahead of the election, U.S. intelligence officials said Russia, Iran and China all sought to undermine confidence in U.S. democracy. They also concluded that Russia sought to prop up the ultimate victor Trump, who has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, suggested cutting funds to Ukraine and repeatedly criticized the NATO military alliance. Iran, meanwhile, sought to oppose Trump's candidacy, officials said. The president-elect's first administration ended a nuclear deal with Iran, reimposed sanctions and ordered the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, an act prompting Iran's leaders to vow revenge. Russian and Iranian officials have repeatedly rejected claims that they sought to influence the outcome of the 2024 election. Messages left with officials from both countries were not immediately returned Tuesday. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Russian and Iranian groups face new U.S. sanctions over disinformation targeting American voters

The United States has imposed sanctions on two groups linked to Iranian and Russian efforts to target American voters with disinformation ahead of this year's election. Treasury officials announced the sanctions Tuesday, alleging that the two organizations sought to stoke divisions among Americans before November's vote. U.S. intelligence has accused both governments of spreading disinformation, including fake videos, news stories and social media posts, designed to manipulate voters and undermine trust in U.S. elections. "The governments of Iran and Russia have targeted our election processes and institutions and sought to divide the American people through targeted disinformation campaigns," Bradley T. Smith, Treasury's acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement. Authorities said the Russian group, the Moscow-based Center for Geopolitical Expertise, oversaw the creation, financing and dissemination of disinformation about American candidates, including deepfake videos created using artificial intelligence. In addition to the group itself, the new sanctions apply to its director, who authorities say worked closely with Russian military intelligence agents also overseeing cyberattacks and sabotage against the West. Authorities say the center used AI to quickly manufacture fake videos about American candidates created scores of fake news websites designed to look legitimate and even paid U.S. web companies to create pro-Russian content. The Iranian group, the Cognitive Design Production Center, is a subsidiary of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, U.S. officials said, which the United States has designated a foreign terrorist organization. Officials say the center worked since at least 2023 to incite political tensions in the United States. U.S. intelligence agencies have blamed the Iranian government for seeking to encourage protests in the U.S. over Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. Iran also has been accused of hacking into the accounts of several top current and former U.S. officials, including senior members of Donald Trump's campaign. In the months ahead of the election, U.S. intelligence officials said Russia, Iran and China all sought to undermine confidence in U.S. democracy. They also concluded that Russia sought to prop up the ultimate victor Trump, who has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, suggested cutting funds to Ukraine and repeatedly criticized the NATO military alliance. Iran, meanwhile, sought to oppose Trump's candidacy, officials said. The president-elect's first administration ended a nuclear deal with Iran, reimposed sanctions and ordered the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, an act prompting Iran's leaders to vow revenge. Russian and Iranian officials have rejected claims that they sought to influence the outcome of the 2024 election. "Russia has not and does not interfere with the internal affairs of other countries," a spokesperson for Russia's embassy in Washington wrote in an email Tuesday. A message left with officials from Iran was not immediately returned Tuesday.