Microsoft has new intelligence warning of an increase in Iranian influence campaigns in the run-up to the US presidential election in November.
Microsoft has identified four Iranian groups that use different techniques, tactics, and procedures (TTPs) to influence voter opinion, specifically attack campaigns, or sow distrust in the political system.
In one of the examples Microsoft provided, an Iranian group targeted “a senior official campaigning for president” in a phishing attack and then “unsuccessfully attempted to log into an account belonging to a former presidential candidate.”
Trump campaign hacked
Following the release of Microsoft’s intelligence, former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign alleged that some of the company’s communications had been compromised by “foreign sources hostile to the United States.”
A Trump campaign spokesman, Steven Cheung, cited the Microsoft report and spoke to Politics about the attack, stating: “These documents were illegally obtained from foreign sources hostile to the United States, with the goal of influencing the 2024 election and sowing chaos throughout our democratic process.”
“On Friday, a new report from Microsoft revealed that Iranian hackers broke into the account of a ‘senior official’ of the US presidential campaign in June 2024, coinciding with the close timing of President Trump’s selection of a vice presidential candidate,” Cheung concluded.
Politics also received a number of anonymous messages from someone identifying himself only as “Robert” who forwarded a number of internal communications from within the Trump campaign, which Politico verified as authentic with two people familiar with the documents, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Included in the documents was a research document identified as a surveillance file for Trump’s recently selected vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance. Within it was a section titled “POTENTIAL VULNERABILITIES” that contained a number of past criticisms of Trump. “Robert” further stated that they have a “variety of documents, from (Trump’s) legal and court filings to internal campaign discussions.”
Microsoft’s intelligence report also revealed that there is an Iranian group that is trying to influence American voters on the other side of the political spectrum. There is a site that targets left-leaning audiences and regularly insults former President Trump. There is also a right-leaning site that regularly posts about LGBTQ+ issues and gender. Much of the content, however, is stolen from other American publications.
Another group identified by Microsoft is believed to be seeking to disrupt and delegitimize the U.S. election by inciting violence against political figures and groups. The ultimate goal is to cause chaos, fear, and undermine the authorities.
A fourth group conducted a password spray campaign that successfully compromised a government employee’s account at the national level, but the group gained no further access. Microsoft’s observations point to an intelligence campaign targeting satellite, defense, and health sectors.