The Department of Justice has filed charges against three men from Iran, accusing them of breaking into and disseminating details from the Trump presidential campaign to the press.
The individuals in question, Masoud Jalili, 36, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri, 34, and Yaser Balaghi, 37, are reported to have links with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a group the United States labeled as a terrorist organization in 2019. They face a variety of charges, such as illegal computer access to retrieve data from a secured computer, plotting to assist a recognized foreign terrorist entity, fraudulently registering domain names leading to eight counts of wire fraud, and committing aggravated identity theft on eight instances, as per the Department of Justice.
Beginning in January 2020, it’s claimed that Jalili, Aghamiri, and Balaghi embarked on an extensive hacking initiative, employing spearphishing and social engineering to infiltrate and manipulate the computer systems and accounts of their targets. The trio reportedly utilized virtual private networks and servers to hide their actual locations, impersonated significant global institutions and U.S. individuals through fake email accounts, and set up counterfeit login pages to capture user credentials. While some of these attempts were successful, others were not, as noted by the DOJ.
The Associated Press has identified that the operation targeted not only the Trump campaign but also a former ambassador to Israel, a past CIA deputy director, a previous U.S. homeland security advisor, personnel within the State and Defense departments, and journalists.
The DOJ reveals that in May of 2024, the hackers shifted their focus to the Trump campaign, employing the same hacking infrastructure they had used against other officials. It is believed that they were able to access personal accounts of individuals associated with the campaign, including officials.
“The conspirators used their access to those accounts to steal, among other information, non-public campaign documents and emails (campaign material),” the DOJ disclosed.
Furthermore, it’s alleged that they later attempted to communicate with three individuals thought to be part of Biden’s campaign, still active in the race at the time. On June 27, they emailed two of these individuals with “campaign material stolen from an official for US Presidential Campaign 1.” There was no response from either recipient. A subsequent email on July 3 to the third individual also went unanswered.
Materials related to Trump’s potential VP selections were also purportedly sent to “multiple members of the news media, in an attempt to induce the news media to publish the material.” One email suggested, “I think this information is worth a good [US news publication] piece with your narration. Let me know your thoughts.”
Attorney General Merrick Garland emphasized, “The Justice Department is working relentlessly to uncover and counter Iran’s cyberattacks aimed at stoking discord, undermining confidence in our democratic institutions, and influencing our elections,” adding, “The American people – not Iran, or any other foreign power – will decide the outcome of our country’s elections.”
FBI Director Christopher Wray stated, “Today’s charges represent the culmination of a thorough and long-running FBI investigation that has resulted in the indictment of three Iranian nationals for their roles in a wide-ranging hacking campaign sponsored by the Government of Iran,” underscoring the gravity of the situation. He continued, “The conduct laid out in the indictment is just the latest example of Iran’s brazen behavior. So today the FBI would like to send a message to the Government of Iran – you and your hackers can’t hide behind your keyboards.”
