Microsoft has revealed that hackers with ties to the Iranian government have been trying to influence the US presidential election for months.
Researchers at the tech giant said Thursday they had found several Iranian groups spreading polarizing and inflammatory messages on controversial, politically divisive issues.
According to Microsoft’s Latest Threat Intelligence ReportCybercriminals are using secret news sites that target voter groups on opposite ends of the political spectrum to further alienate both camps.
One of the sites created specifically for Democratic Party supporters is called Nio Thinker, which insults former President Donald Trump, calling him an “opioid-swallowing elephant in the MAGA China store” and a “crazy litigious person.”
The website, which began publishing in late October 2023, also publishes numerous sarcastic and long-winded articles criticizing Trump.
A website specifically created for Democratic Party supporters called Nio Thinker is insulting former President Donald Trump, calling him an “opioid pill elephant in the MAGA China store” and a “mad lawsuit aurora.”
On the other hand, another website, Savannah Time, claims to be a “reliable source for conservative news in the vibrant city of Savannah”
This website focuses primarily on Republican politics and LGBTQ issues, particularly gender reassignment, a topic that has generated much controversy on the right.
Evidence the company found shows that these sites are using AI services to copy some of their content from US publications.
Microsoft did not mention the publications in the report. Interestingly, the report did not suggest that attacks had been carried out on Vice President Kamala Harris.
In addition, the report said that an Iranian group with ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had previously attempted to break into email accounts of campaign leaders.
The website, which began publishing in late October 2023, also publishes numerous sarcastic and long-winded articles criticizing Trump
Notably, the report did not suggest that there had been any attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris compared to her presidential rival Trump.
The attackers sent a spearfishing email to a senior official in June from the hacked email account of a former senior adviser.
This scam email “contained a link that directed traffic through a domain controlled by the group before directing it to the website of the link provided.”
A few days after attempting to monitor traffic and access confidential information, the same group attempted to log into the account of a former presidential candidate, but without success.
The highly detailed report also noted that an Iranian group managed to hack into the email account of a district-level government employee in a swing state.
The hackers managed to break into one account, but Microsoft Threat Intelligence later discovered that they were unable to access other accounts.
The highly detailed report also noted that an Iranian group managed to hack into the email account of a district-level government employee in a swing state
Iranian groups that have tried to undermine confidence in the electoral system in the past have been preparing to carry out influence operations since March 2024, researchers say.
The findings are the latest evidence that foreign governments are conducting covert operations in the run-up to the US elections in November.
In 2020, two Iranian men posed as members of the right-wing Proud Boys group as part of a voter intimidation effort, the FBIThey were later charged for their involvement.
That same election year, Iranian hackers hacked a website used by a US municipal government to publish election results.
US cybersecurity officials later clarified that the attackers were caught before they carried out any malicious activity.