US intelligence agencies have accused Iran of trying to interfere in the ongoing presidential elections. The agencies allege Iran has been trying to infiltrate the Trump campaign and attempted to spy on the Biden campaign as well.
A joint statement released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency claims that Iran is carrying out influence operations targeting the American public and cyber operations targeting Presidential campaigns, “intended to influence the US election process.”The agencies are confident that Iranians have, via social engineering and “other efforts to sought access to individuals with direct access to the Presidential campaigns of both political parties.”
However, Iran’s incursions into US cyberspace aren’t news. The statement makes it clear that this approach is not new, and that Iran and Russia have employed similar tactics not only in the United States but across the world.
Several cybersecurity firms have disclosed malicious cyber activity from Iran-linked threat actors in the last few months. Microsoft’s Threat Analysis Center was the first to publicly report on said activity, while Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) also reported that APT42, an Iran-backed threat actor, has been trying to attack the Biden and Trump campaigns. The feds and other law enforcement agencies are working to track down these attempts, investigate, and contact victims to limit any potential damage.
A spokesperson for the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations told CyberScoop that the statement is “unsubstantiated and devoid of any standing.” The spokesperson added that Tehran had no intention or motive to interfere in the US elections. If the US government believes in its claims, it should present evidence, if any, “to which we will respond accordingly.”
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