Iranian hackers posing as tech support agents attempted to infiltrate the WhatsApp accounts of staffers in both the Trump and Biden administrations, according to a statement from Meta Platforms.
The social media giant identified the hackers, who posed as representatives from companies like AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Google, after receiving reports from users who encountered suspicious messages on WhatsApp.
Meta's investigation traced the activity back to APT42, an Iranian-linked hacking group notorious for its persistent phishing campaigns targeting political, diplomatic, and public figures. This network had recently been blamed for hacking former President Donald Trump's campaign.
The targeted individuals include political and diplomatic officials across the Middle East, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Despite the aggressive attempts, Meta reported that there is no evidence indicating that any of the targeted accounts were compromised.
Given the proximity to the U.S. presidential election on November 5, Meta shared its findings with law enforcement and the presidential campaigns, urging them to remain vigilant against potential cyber threats. The campaigns of both Trump and Democratic rival Kamala Harris have reported cyberattacks in recent weeks. U.S. intelligence officials expressed confidence that Iran is behind the recent hacks.
"We have observed increasingly aggressive Iranian activity during this election cycle, specifically involving influence operations targeting the American public and cyber operations targeting Presidential campaigns," stated the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency in a joint release.
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