Microsoft says that Iranian hackers have targeted U.S. political campaigns

A hacking group associated with the Iranian government attempted to infiltrate the email accounts of presidential campaign staffers as part of a broader effort to collect intelligence ahead of the U.S. election, Microsoft Corp. revealed on Friday.

In June, attackers linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps used a compromised email address from a former political adviser to attempt phishing another senior presidential campaign official, according to Microsoft’s Threat Analysis Center. The group, referred to by Microsoft as Mint Sandstorm, also made unsuccessful attempts to access the account of a former presidential candidate. The report did not disclose the names of the specific individuals targeted.

According to the report, other Iranian groups are utilizing artificial intelligence technologies to make incendiary posts regarding contentious matters like gender reassignment surgery and to publish content online disparaging the previous president, Donald Trump.

Additionally, according to Microsoft researchers, Iranian organizations that have a history of trying to erode public confidence in the political process have been getting ready to start influence operations since March. Researchers discovered that purported media operations carried out by Iranian entities have also attempted to spread divisive political messages about issues, including Israel’s war against Hamas and presidential candidates, by using websites with fake and copied information.

The findings represent the latest evidence of foreign governments engaging in covert operations ahead of the U.S. elections in November. In July, American intelligence officials warned that Russia, China, and Iran were recruiting individuals in the U.S. to disseminate propaganda. An Iranian government representative denied these allegations.

In 2020, Iranian operatives impersonated members of the right-wing Proud Boys group as part of a voter intimidation campaign, according to the FBI, leading to charges against two individuals. That same year, Iranian hackers breached a website used by a U.S. municipal government to publish election results, although the attackers were apprehended before they could carry out any malicious activities, according to U.S. cybersecurity officials.

Nation-state hackers have historically employed email attacks to attempt to infiltrate American political campaigns, as evidenced by the Russian hack in 2016, where a state-sponsored group eventually released internal emails from Hillary Clinton’s staff.

On Wednesday, the U.S. State Department identified six suspected Iranian hackers who are accused of breaching industrial control systems utilized by American public utilities.