On Friday, the Justice Department reportedly disclosed criminal charges against three Iranian operatives who are suspected of hacking Donald Trump’s campaign and leaking stolen information to the media in an effort to sabotage the former president’s election prospects.
Prosecutors claimed that three members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps were involved in a comprehensive operation that targeted current and former U.S. government officials in a 37-page indictment.
In May, prosecutors asserted that operatives initiated a campaign to target the personal accounts of Trump campaign officials, and they were successful.
The indictment stated that the three individuals attempted to weaponize the materials by disclosing them to the news media after gaining access to emails and other campaign documents.
The alleged hackers were identified as Masoud Jalili, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri, and Yasar Balaghi, and they were charged in a federal court in Washington, D.C. with offenses that included providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization.
According to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Iran’s cyber activities have become more aggressive in anticipation of the 2024 election.
The opposition research on Trump’s running companion, JD Vance, that was primarily derived from public information was included in the material. Commonly, campaigns compile this information when evaluating an individual for the ticket.
Other media organizations also reported that they had been contacted by “Robert,” but none of them published the material they received.
The Biden-Harris campaign did not engage with the material that the hackers sent to individuals associated with the campaign.
The Iranian hackers were indicted by prosecutors in a matter of weeks, a remarkable reversal for nation-state cybercrime cases that previously could take years to resolve due to the technical nature of the investigations and diplomatic considerations.
Following its assessment of an elevated Iranian threat to the former president, the Biden administration expanded Trump’s security measures.
A Pakistani citizen with connections to Iran was indicted earlier this year for the alleged conspiracy to assassinate Trump and other politicians.
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