[ad_1]
The Justice Department has accused Iranians of attempting to interfere in the 2020 election, including in efforts to influence Republican lawmakers, Democratic voters and American news.
An indictment released on Thursday accused two Iranian nationals, Seyyed Mohammad Hosein Musa Kazemi and Sajjad Kashian, of computer fraud and voter intimidation. Meanwhile, the Treasury Department said it had imposed new sanctions on six Iranians and one Iranian organization.
“Working with others, Kazemi and Kashian accessed voter information from at least one state’s voter database, threatened U.S. voters via email, and even spread a fictitious video that allegedly depicts players preparing overseas ballots,” said Damian Williams, attorney for the U.S. Southern District. ” Statement from New York. “The United States will never tolerate attempts by any foreign actor to undermine our free and democratic elections. As a result of the accusations announced today and the simultaneous efforts of our US government partners Kazemi and Kashian, they will forever look over their shoulders as we try to bring them to justice.”
According to the indictment, Iranian conspirators attempted to compromise 11 provinces’ voter registration and voter information websites in September and October 2020, and successfully used computers in an unnamed province.
The conspirators later allegedly sent messages to Republicans claiming that Democrats intended to exploit state websites’ vulnerabilities to edit ballots and register non-existent voters by mail. Emails and Facebook messages were sent to GOP members of Congress, individuals associated with former President Trump’s campaign, and others.
The Justice Department also accused the conspirators of pretending to be the Proud Boys, a far-right group, and sending emails to threaten tens of thousands of registered voters with harm if they didn’t vote for Mr. Trump. The targeted voters were registered Democrats.
The conspirators also compromised the content management system used by “dozens of newspapers and other publications”, which the indictment says may have been used to spread false allegations about the election. Actors’ ability to create and edit fraudulent content was eventually stopped by the FBI, according to the indictment and the Department of the Treasury.
The Treasury Department said it has sanctioned Mr Kazemi and Mr Kashian for their allegations to influence the 2020 elections. The Treasury exercised its authority in an executive order issued by Mr Trump and renewed by President Biden, blocking various transactions and restricting American financial institutions from making or lending to them. The sanctions also prevent Americans from taking action with those sanctioned.
The two men were employees of Iranian cyber company Emen Net Pasargad, formerly known as Net Peygard Samavat Company, which, according to the Treasury, sanctioned the company for its alleged role in trying to influence the election; avoiding sanctions; and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Electronic Warfare and Cyber Defense Organization (IRGC-EWCD).
The Treasury also said it has sanctioned Mohammad Bagher Shirinkar, director of Emen Net Pasargad, and people who serve on Emen Net’s board of directors, including Mostafa Sarmadi, Seyyed Mehdi Hashemi Toghroljerdi and Hosein Akbari Nodeh.
Deputy Treasury Secretary Adewale “Wally” Adeyemo said the action underlined the American government’s commitment to hold “state-sponsored actors” accountable for trying to undermine confidence in the US elections.
Senator Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat and chairman of the Intelligence Committee, applauded the Biden administration’s actions.
“Our intelligence officials have repeatedly warned that other countries will try to follow Russia’s 2016 playbook,” he said in a statement. “Today’s accusations and sanctions against several Iranians believed to be behind a cyber campaign to intimidate and influence American voters in the 2020 election are further proof that attempts to interfere in our elections will continue, and we all need to be on our guard against them.”
The US government’s statements regarding the alleged Iranian cyber chaos follow several statements by US institutions, companies and American allies regarding Iran’s malicious cyber activity.
Earlier this week, American cyber officials met with their counterparts in the UK and Australia to argue that hackers backed by the Iranian government were the basis for ransomware attacks affecting the healthcare and transportation sectors.
Microsoft announced on Tuesday that it has witnessed “Iranian nation-state actors” increasingly use ransomware to disrupt targets and solicit funds. Microsoft said it has also noticed that the same actors show more patience with hacking attempts than any other brute-force attack carried out by the Iranians.
Amid the overwhelming exposure of Iran’s nefarious cyber activity to harm Americans, the Biden administration has forged a new partnership with Israel. Earlier this week, Mr. Adeyemo visited Israel to discuss national security priorities involving Iran with Israeli officials and cybersecurity entrepreneurs.
The Treasury also said it is working with Israel as part of a new US-Israeli task force on cybersecurity, financial technology and innovation.
[ad_2]
Source link