The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed criminal charges against three Iranian hackers accused of conducting a multi-year hacking campaign on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The indictment, unsealed on Friday, named Masoud Jalili, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri, and Yasar Balaghi as orchestrators of a cyberattack targeting Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, former senior government officials, and U.S. Congress members.
Retaliation for Soleimani’s Death
According to the DOJ, the Iranian hackers launched their cyber offensive as part of a broader retaliation for the killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani by the Trump administration in 2020. The Iranian government vowed revenge, and the hackers allegedly sought to disrupt the upcoming 2024 U.S. presidential election by undermining the Trump campaign.
The indictment accuses the hackers of engaging in a hack-and-leak operation, a tactic reminiscent of Russia’s interference in the 2016 U.S. election, which involved leaking sensitive information stolen from political targets. U.S. officials charged that these activities were designed to sow discord and erode public trust in the U.S. electoral process.
Hacking Campaign Targets Trump and U.S. Officials
The hackers allegedly used phishing tactics to compromise the online accounts of Trump campaign staffers, former White House officials, and members of Congress. Their goal was to steal and leak sensitive documents to the media. In August 2024, several major outlets, including Politico, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, were approached by an individual using the pseudonym "Robert," who claimed to possess documents stolen from Trump’s campaign. However, unlike the 2016 hack-and-leak, these media organizations opted not to publish the content of the hacked files, instead focusing on the fact that they were stolen.
Journalists who reviewed the documents, including NBC News' Kevin Collier, found little newsworthy material. “At least half a dozen outlets and independent reporters have received hacked Trump files... No reporter who’s seen them has found news in them,” Collier shared on X (formerly Twitter).
U.S. Intelligence and Tech Giants Confirm Iran’s Role
Following the initial reports, U.S. intelligence agencies, including the FBI, CISA, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, released a joint statement confirming that the Iranian government was behind the hack-and-leak operation. The statement indicated that Iran has consistently used social engineering and other techniques to gain access to U.S. political campaigns, aiming to influence election outcomes.
This is not the first time Iran has been implicated in U.S. election interference. Both Microsoft and Google have also attributed hacking attempts against individuals affiliated with both the Trump and Biden campaigns to Iranian government-backed hackers.
Iranian Efforts to Influence Global Elections
The indictment and subsequent intelligence assessments suggest that Iran’s involvement in election interference extends beyond the U.S., with the regime employing similar tactics in other countries to advance its geopolitical goals. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland emphasized this at a press conference, stating, "The American people alone will decide the outcome of our elections. Foreign regimes attempting to undermine our democracy will face consequences."
As the 2024 election approaches, the DOJ remains vigilant in safeguarding the electoral process from foreign interference. U.S. officials are committed to holding those responsible accountable and ensuring that external actors, particularly those from authoritarian regimes, are unable to influence the nation's democratic processes.
The case against the three Iranian hackers serves as a stark reminder of the growing threat of cyber warfare in global elections, with Iran and other state actors leveraging technology to disrupt democratic institutions worldwide.
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