Iranian hackers try to influence US elections

Iran is laying the groundwork for influencing voters ahead of the US presidential election. This is stated in a Microsoft report published on Friday, UNN reports with reference to France24.

Details

According to Microsoft's findings, Iran is trying to influence the upcoming US elections through cyberattacks. These attempts are particularly active now.

So far, four groups have been identified: they are engaged in spreading disinformation, discrediting the government, questioning the integrity of the elections, and inciting violence against politicians.

1) A group affiliated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. In June, these hackers attacked a senior representative of the US presidential campaign with a phishing email, a form of cyberattack often used to collect sensitive information. The email was sent from the hacked email account of a former senior adviser.

2) The Iranian group created fake websites,  like news sites in the United States, targeting voters on opposite sides of the political spectrum.

3) Groups posing as American activists have been identified, potentially laying the groundwork for influence operations closer to the election.

4) An Iranian group that compromised the account of a US government official in May was also identified. However, in this case, it remains unclear whether the cyberattack was related to attempts to interfere in the election.

In addition to Iranian hackers, attempts to influence the US presidential election were detected among Russian and Chinese hackers.

Recall

Earlier, UNN reported that Microsoft recorded attempts by Russian hackers to influence the US elections