NEW YORK (AP) — Iran is ramping up online activities that appear aimed at influencing the upcoming U.S. election, including an email phishing attack on a presidential campaign, Microsoft said Friday.
Iranian actors have also set up fake news websites and masqueraded as activists in recent months, laying the groundwork to sow division and potentially influence American voters this fall, particularly in swing states, the tech giant found.
The findings in Microsoft’s latest threat intelligence report show how Iran, which has been active in recent U.S. campaign cycles, is developing tactics for a new election that will likely have global implications. The report goes beyond what U.S. intelligence officials have revealed, providing specific examples of Iranian groups and the actions they have taken so far. Iran’s mission to the United Nations denied it had any plans to disrupt the U.S. presidential election or carry out cyberattacks.
The report does not specify Iran’s intentions beyond sowing chaos in the United States, though U.S. officials have previously suggested that Iran is specifically working against former President Donald Trump. U.S. officials have also expressed concern about Tehran’s efforts to retaliate for a 2020 attack on an Iranian general that Trump ordered. This week, the Justice Department unsealed criminal charges against a Pakistani man with ties to Iran who is accused of plotting assassinations targeting multiple officials, possibly including Trump.
The report also shows how Russia and China are exploiting political polarization in the US to spread their own divisive messages in a key election year.
Microsoft’s report cites four examples of recent Iranian activity, which the company expects will increase as the November election approaches.
First, a group with ties to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps targeted a senior U.S. presidential campaign official in June with a phishing email, a form of cyberattack often used to gather sensitive information, according to the report, which did not identify which campaign was targeted. The group disguised 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 tried to log into an account belonging to a former presidential candidate but was unable to do so, the Microsoft report said. The company notified those targeted.
In another example, an Iranian group has set up websites posing as American news sites and targeting voters on the other side of the political spectrum, the report said.
One fake news site aimed at a left-leaning audience insults Trump by calling him “crazy” and suggesting he uses drugs, the report said. Another site aimed at Republican readers focuses on LGBTQ issues and gender-affirming surgery.
A third example Microsoft cited was Iranian groups posing as American activists, which could lay the groundwork for pre-election influence operations.
Finally, another Iranian group compromised an account belonging to a government employee in a swing state in May, the report said. It was unclear whether that cyberattack was related to attempts to interfere in the election.
Iran’s U.N. mission sent The Associated Press an emailed statement: “Iran has been the victim of numerous offensive cyber operations targeting its infrastructure, public service centers and industries. Iran’s cyber capabilities are defensive and commensurate with the threats it faces. Iran has no intention or plan to carry out cyber attacks. The U.S. presidential election is an internal matter in which Iran has no involvement.”
The Microsoft report found that as Iran expands its cyber influence, actors tied to Russia have also shifted their influence campaigns to the U.S. elections. In contrast, actors tied to the Chinese Communist Party have taken advantage of pro-Palestinian university protests and other current events in the U.S. to heighten political tensions in the U.S.
Microsoft said it continues to monitor how foreign adversaries are using generative AI technology. The increasingly cheap and accessible tools can generate lifelike fake images, photos and videos in seconds, raising concerns among some experts that they could be weaponized to mislead voters this election cycle.
While many countries have experimented with AI in their influence operations, the company said those efforts have not had much impact so far. The report said that 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 trusted labels or logos on top of false information.”
Microsoft’s report echoes recent warnings from U.S. intelligence agencies, who say America’s opponents appear determined to fill the internet with false and inflammatory claims ahead of the November election.
Senior intelligence officials said last month that Russia remains the biggest threat when it comes to election disinformation, with signs that Iran is ramping up its efforts and China is treading cautiously as it heads toward 2024.
Iran’s efforts appear aimed at undermining candidates more likely to exacerbate tensions with Tehran, the officials said. That’s a description that fits Trump, whose administration terminated a nuclear deal with Iran, reimposed sanctions and ordered the assassination of Iran’s top general.
Moreover, the attempts to exert influence coincide with a period of high tensions between Iran and Israel, whose military is heavily supported by the US.
Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said last month that the Iranian government has been covertly supporting U.S. protests over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Groups with ties to Iran have posed as online activists, encouraged protests and provided financial support to some protest groups, Haines said.
America’s enemies, including Iran, have a long history of trying to influence U.S. elections. In 2020, groups tied to Iran sent emails to Democratic voters in an apparent attempt to intimidate them into voting for Trump, intelligence officials said.
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Associated Press editors in Washington David Klepper and Eric Tucker contributed to this report.
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