Meta reported on Friday that an Iranian hacking group targeted WhatsApp accounts affiliated with President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.
“This malicious activity originated in Iran and attempted to target individuals in Israel, Palestine, Iran, the United States, and the UK,” the social media giant said in a statement.
The effort primarily focused on “political and diplomatic officials, and other public figures, including some associated with the administrations of President Biden and former President Trump.”
Biden, Trump, and Harris Targeted by Iranian Hackers: Google Reveals Ongoing Threat
Meta’s research adds to a growing list of Iranian-backed hacking operations targeting the 2024 US presidential election.
Last week, Google reported that an alleged Iranian hacking operation targeting US presidential campaigns is ongoing and widespread. Hackers attempted to access email accounts associated with Biden, Trump, Vice President Kamala Harris, and both Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns but were unsuccessful.
On Monday, US intelligence services tied Iran to a hack and leak operation targeting Trump’s campaign. Hackers gained access to Trump operative Roger Stone’s email account and attempted to breach another campaign official’s account.
When asked about Iran’s reported latest hacking activities, the FBI referred to a statement issued on Monday.
The intelligence community “is confident that the Iranians have sought access to individuals with direct access to the presidential campaigns of both political parties through social engineering and other efforts,” according to a joint statement issued by the FBI and other agencies on Monday.
Meta said its investigation linked the efforts to an organisation known as “APT42,” which uses phishing tactics to acquire internet account passwords.
Meta’s security team stopped a group of accounts impersonating as help agents for several IT organisations, linking the activity to APT42.
“We have not seen evidence of the targeted WhatsApp accounts being compromised, but out of an abundance of caution, we’re sharing our findings publicly, in addition to sharing information with law enforcement and our industry peers,” according to the technology firm.
CNN has contacted both the White House and the Trump campaign for comment.
Source: CNN
