Microsoft researchers said Friday that hackers linked to the Iranian government attempted to break into the account of a senior U.S. presidential campaign official in June. The attack came weeks after a group breached the account of a U.S. state official.
The attempts, according to the company’s report, are part of attempts by Iranian groups to influence the November US presidential election. The information is from Reuters.
The document does not provide details about who the employee would be. high-ranking officials. The activity appears to be a part of a larger Iranian group’s attempt, based on the text, to gather intelligence on US policies, campaigns, and target swing states in the nation.
The report says that a group commanded by the intelligence unit of the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) “sent an email spear-phishing a senior presidential campaign official.”
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Spear-phishing is a personalized cyberattack that targets specific individuals or companies. It is usually carried out through emails that appear legitimate.
Iranian representatives at the UN in New York told Reuters that their country’s cyber capabilities were “defensive and commensurate with the threats we face” and that they had no plan for carrying out cyberattacks. “The U.S. presidential election is an internal matter in which Iran does not interfere,” it said in a statement.
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