Iranian Hackers Target U.S. Presidential Campaign: Microsoft Uncovers New Tactics

Microsoft researchers disclosed that hackers tied to Iran's government attempted to breach the account of a high-ranking official in a U.S. presidential campaign. This follows the breach of a county-level account as part of efforts to influence the U.S. election. The report highlights increasing Iranian cyber activities targeting political campaigns and voters.

Microsoft researchers revealed on Friday that Iranian government-associated hackers tried to infiltrate the account of a "high-ranking official" in a U.S. presidential campaign in June. This incident occurred weeks after a similar breach of a county-level U.S. official's account. According to the researchers, these cyber activities are part of Iran's escalating attempts to sway the upcoming U.S. presidential election in November.

The report emerges amidst recent claims by senior U.S. Intelligence officials that Iran has been intensifying its use of covert social media accounts to instigate political discord in the United States. Responding to the allegations, Iran's U.N. mission stated that its cyber capabilities are defensive, with no plans for offensive cyber operations, dismissing involvement in the U.S. election as interference.

The hackers, linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), employed spear-phishing emails targeting a presidential campaign official and compromised a low-level county government account. These activities aim to gather intelligence on U.S. political campaigns. Additionally, another Iranian group launched AI-driven covert news sites intended to influence U.S. voters across the political divide.

(With inputs from agencies.)