Iran targets US elections with fake news sites and cyberattacks, Microsoft says

Iran is stepping up online activities that appear aimed at influencing the U.S. election, in one case targeting a presidential campaign with an email phishing attack, Microsoft said Friday.

Iranian actors have also spent recent months creating fake news sites and posing as activists, laying the groundwork to stoke division and potentially influence American voters this fall, particularly in key swing states, the tech giant found.

The findings of Microsoft’s latest threat report show how Iran, which was active in the recent US election, is evolving its tactics in preparation for a new election that could have global repercussions. The report goes further than anything US intelligence has revealed, giving specific examples of Iranian groups and their actions so far. Iran’s UN mission has denied that it intends to interfere or launch cyberattacks in the US presidential election.

The report does not elaborate on Iran’s intentions beyond sowing chaos in the United States, though U.S. officials have previously suggested that Iran is particularly opposed to former President Donald Trump. U.S. officials have also expressed concern about Tehran’s efforts to seek retaliation for a 2020 strike on an Iranian general at Trump’s behest. This week, the Justice Department unsealed criminal charges against a Pakistani man with ties to Iran who is accused of plotting to assassinate several officials, potentially including Trump.

The report also reveals how Russia and China are exploiting American political polarization to advance their own divisive messages in a critical election year.

Microsoft's report identified four examples of recent Iranian activity that the company expects to increase as the November elections approach.

In June, a group linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards targeted a senior U.S. presidential campaign official with a phishing email, a form of cyberattack often used to gather sensitive information, according to the report, which did not identify the targeted campaign. The group concealed the origin of the email by sending it from the hacked email account of a former senior adviser, Microsoft said.

Days later, the Iranian group attempted to log into the account of a former presidential candidate, but was unsuccessful, according to the Microsoft report. The company notified those targeted.

In another example, an Iranian group created websites posing as U.S.-based news sites and targeting voters on opposite ends of the political spectrum, the report said.

A fake news site aimed at a left-leaning audience insults Trump by calling him “completely crazy” and suggests he uses drugs, the report said. Another site aimed at Republican readers focuses on LGBTQ issues and gender reassignment surgery.

A third example cited by Microsoft reveals that Iranian groups are posing as American activists, potentially laying the groundwork for influence operations ahead of the election.

Finally, another Iranian group compromised the account of a key government official in May, the report said. It is unclear whether this cyberattack is linked to attempts at election interference.

Iran's mission to the U.N. emailed a statement to The Associated Press: “Iran has been the victim of numerous offensive cyber operations targeting its infrastructure, utility centers and industries. Iran's cyber capabilities are defensive and commensurate with the threats it faces. Iran has no intention or plan to launch cyber attacks. The U.S. presidential election is an internal matter in which Iran does not interfere.”

According to the Microsoft report, as Iran escalates its cyber influence, Russia-linked actors have also pivoted their influence campaigns to focus on the U.S. election, while Chinese Communist Party-linked actors have taken advantage of pro-Palestinian academic protests and other current events in the United States to try to increase U.S. political tensions.

Microsoft said it continues to monitor how foreign adversaries are using generative AI technology. These increasingly cheap and easily accessible tools can generate realistic images, photos and videos in seconds, raising concerns among some experts that they could be used as a weapon to mislead voters this election cycle.

While many countries have experimented with AI in their influence operations, those efforts have not had much impact so far, the report said. As a result, some actors have “reverted to techniques that have proven effective in the past—simple digital manipulations, mischaracterization of content, and the use of trust labels or logos on false information.”

Microsoft's report follows recent warnings from U.S. intelligence agencies that America's adversaries appear determined to spread false and inflammatory claims online ahead of the November vote.

Senior intelligence officials said last month that Russia continues to pose the greatest threat when it comes to election disinformation, while there are indications that Iran is stepping up its efforts and China is proceeding cautiously with regard to 2024.

Iran's efforts appear aimed at destabilizing candidates seen as most likely to escalate tensions with Tehran, the officials said. A description that fits Trump, whose administration has terminated the nuclear deal with Iran, reimposed sanctions and ordered the assassination of the Iranian general.

An update last month by officials from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security concluded that Tehran's efforts appeared aimed at undermining Trump.

“Since our last update, the [intelligence community] “Iran has observed that Tehran is trying to influence the presidential election, likely because Iranian leaders want to avoid an outcome that they believe would increase tensions with the United States,” a senior ODNI official said, adding: “Iran’s preference essentially reflects its desire not to escalate tensions with the United States, and Iran opposes the candidate that Iranian leaders believe would increase those tensions.”

The officials did not explicitly name the Trump campaign, instead referring to the main findings of the 2020 assessment. They also stressed that much of Iran's online activities, which they said rely on a “vast network” of internet personalities, are aimed at stoking chaos and societal divisions.

These influence efforts also coincide with a period of high tensions between Iran and Israel, whose military is heavily backed by the United States.

Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said last month that the Iranian government had covertly supported U.S. protests against Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza. In a statement released July 9, Haines said the intelligence community had “observed actors linked to the Iranian government posing as activists online seeking to encourage protests and even provide financial support to protesters.”

America’s enemies, including Iran, have long sought to influence U.S. elections. In 2020, groups linked to Iran sent emails to Democratic voters in an apparent attempt to intimidate them into voting for Trump, intelligence officials said.

More information on CBS News

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