A new report from Microsoft researchers indicates that Iran is increasing its influence campaign targeting the U.S., joining Russia and China in efforts to sway American public opinion ahead of the presidential election. The Iranian operation includes websites like Nio Thinker and Savannah Time, which produce content aimed at both liberal and conservative audiences. These sites use artificial intelligence tools to repackage content from legitimate news sources while hiding the original source. Despite not finding significant success with the U.S. audience, researchers believe the sites could be utilized more as the election approaches.
Additionally, a separate group linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeted high-ranking officials on presidential campaigns with spear-phishing emails in June, attempting to compromise their accounts. Iran’s United Nations mission denied reports of meddling, stating that its cyber capabilities are defensive and not intended for launching cyber attacks.
The report also highlighted continued activities by Russia and China, with Russia producing propaganda videos in support of Trump and distributing them through fake news websites, and China focusing on spreading propaganda through videos and online accounts to stoke outrage. The researchers predict that Iran, along with Russia and China, will intensify cyberattacks and efforts to spread propaganda and disinformation to divide Americans leading up to the election.
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