Iran is stepping up online activities that appear to be intended to influence the US presidential election, with one case targeting the presidential campaign with a so-called “phishing email” that attempted to steal data, tech giant Microsoft said.
Iranian actors have been creating fake news sites and posing as activists in recent months, laying the groundwork to fuel division and potentially influence American voters in the November election, particularly in key states, Microsoft found in a report released Friday.
Findings in Microsoft’s latest intelligence report show that Iran, which has been active in past US elections, is developing election tactics that are expected to have global implications.
The report goes further than anything US intelligence officials have disclosed, providing specific examples of how Iranian groups and actors work.
Iran’s mission to the UN has denied that it has plans to interfere or launch cyberattacks on the US presidential election.
The report did not say what Iran’s intentions are, other than to “cause chaos” in the US, although US officials have previously indicated that Iran specifically opposes former President Donald Trump.
US officials also warned of Tehran’s efforts to seek retaliation for the 2020 attack on an Iranian general, which Trump ordered.
This Sunday, the US Department of Justice announced criminal charges against a Pakistani man with ties to Iran who allegedly planned assassination attempts on multiple US officials, potentially including Trump.
In the report, Microsoft also reveals how Russia and China exploited political polarization in the US to promote divisive messages in an election year.
Microsoft’s report gives four examples of Iranian activity that the company expects to increase as the November elections approach.
