Washington DC:
The grand jury in the US has indicted three Iranians on charges related to hacking and cyber espionage of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign. The indictment comes in the wake of increased worries over election interference in the US by Iran, China and Russia.
Federal prosecutors in the United States have today filed criminal charges in the case. The hackers had allegedly targeted members of former president Donald Trump’s campaign.
The three suspects allegedly conspired with several other hackers to carry out “a years-long, wide ranging hacking operation on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC),” US Attorney General Merrick Garland said.
The charges pertain to an top secret Iranian cyber espionage operation that allegedly stole crucial documents related to Donald Trump’s campaign. These hackers also allegedly sent these details to several journalists and key individuals associated with US President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign. This was before President Joe Biden backed out and nominated his deputy – Kamala Harris – as the Democratic presidential candidate.
“The defendants’ own words make clear that they were attempting to undermine former president Trump’s campaign in advance of the 2024 US presidential election,” Mr Garland said.
Court documents revealed that the hackers had “prepared for, and engaged in a wide-ranging hacking campaign”. These include methods like spear-phishing and social engineering techniques to compromise accounts of several US government officials and individuals associated with political campaigns.
A Microsoft report last month said that “Iranian hackers had sent a spear phishing e-mail in June 2024 to a high-ranking official on Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.” In the same month Google’s cybersecurity department said that “Hackers from Iran tried to breach President Joe Biden’s campaign as well.”
“The message of the US government is clear: The American people, not a foreign power, decide the outcome of our country’s elections,” Mr Garland said.
Details on how successful these hacking attempts were, which officials were targeted, and the level of breach have not been revealed by investigating agencies.
The United States Intelligence Community or IC had said earlier this month that “Foreign actors are increasing their election influence activities as we approach November. Our judgements on the activities of Russia, Iran, and China have not changed since our last update.”
Today’s indictment is the latest in a string of federal indictments against foreign hackers that have targeted government agencies and individuals.
Donald Trump’s history with Iran goes far back. During his campaigns for the 2024 presidential election, Mr Trump claimed that US intelligence agencies have reportedly told him that Tehran has allegedly been plotting to assassinate him.
Top security officials in the United States believe Iran has been plotting for years to assassinate Donald Trump, seeking revenge for the 2020 killing of Iran’s then top General, Qasem Sulemani, who was one of the most influential figures in the country.
HOW DANGEROUS IS “IRAN’S THREAT”
The Attorney General noted that “there are few actors in this world that pose as grave a threat to the national security of the United States as does Iran.”
Court documents revealed that the planning for these hacking attempts were planned as far back as 2020. They further stated that in May this year, the hackers began targeting and gaining illegal access to personal accounts of individuals linked with the US presidential campaign.
The US Treasury Department also took strong action in the case by imposing sanctions on seven Iranians, including Masoud Jalili, who was among the three hackers who were charged today.
The United States Treasury “remains strongly committed to holding accountable those who see to undermine our institutions,” said Bradley Smith, the current Treasury Under Secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.
Besides Jalili, the Treasury also sanctioned six staff members and executives of Iran’s cybersecurity firm Emennet Pasargad. “Between approximately August and November 2020, Emennet Pasargad led an online operation to intimidate and influence American voters, and to undermine voter confidence and sow discord,” the Treasury stated.
RUSSIAN AND CHINESE “INTERFERENCE”
The US has also accused Russia and China of interfering in the US presidential election, charges that both Russia and China have denied. While Donald Trump’s campaign has alleged that Vladimir Putin is openly supporting Kamala Harris, based on his remarks at a televised interview, the US government has claimed that the Russian media trying to influence the US electorate.
China, it claims, is interfering too, based on who it feels would be more suitable for its own global agenda. Both Moscow and Beijing have denied these charges.
The US has accused the Chinese government of directly interfering in US’s internal matters as Beijing has reportedly made repeated and ongoing attempts to polarise Americans based on domestic issues ahead of the US elections. Beijing is also accused of targeted attacks on candidates and parties.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had in April this year said that the US has got evidence of Chinese attempts to “influence and arguably interfere” with the US elections.