As Election Day draws closer, an Iranian hacker collective is actively searching American media outlets and websites linked to the election, with behaviour indicating plans for more "direct influence operations," a Microsoft blog post on Wednesday said.
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According to the study, the hackers, who Microsoft dubbed Cotton Sandstorm and who were associated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, conducted reconnaissance and limited probing of numerous "election-related websites" in a number of battleground states that were not mentioned. They also conducted a vulnerability analysis of an unnamed U.S. news organisation in May.
The November 5 presidential election pits Democratic candidate Kamala Harris against Republican opponent Donald Trump in what polls indicate will be a very close contest.
Given the group's operating pace and track record of interfering with elections, experts predicted that Cotton Sandstorm would intensify its activities as the election drew closer. They stated that the group's prior efforts make the development especially worrisome.
According to a spokesman for Iran's UN mission, "such allegations are fundamentally unfounded and wholly inadmissible." The spokeswoman declared, "Iran has no intention or motive to meddle in the U.S. election."
According to U.S. officials, Cotton Sandstorm launched another cyber-enabled influence effort in 2020, just before the most recent presidential election.
The hackers sent thousands of emails to Floridians threatening to "vote for Trump or else!" while posing as the right-wing "Proud Boys." Additionally, the organisation posted a video on social media that purported to be from activist hackers and showed them examining an election system.
Senior U.S. officials stated at the time that the operation's objective was to sow disarray, confusion, and doubt, even if it had no effect on specific voting systems.
According to Microsoft, Cotton Sandstorm also carried out a different operation after the 2020 election that promoted violence against American election officials who refuted allegations of rampant voter fraud.
"Foreign actors—pparticularly Russia, Iran, and China—rremain intent on fanning divisive narratives to divide Americans and undermine Americans' confidence in the U.S. democratic system," the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which is leading the U.S. federal effort to safeguard the election from foreign influence, told Reuters in a previous statement.
Source: Adomonline