Iranian hackers are suspected of intimidating voters and spreading false news about last year’s US presidential election. The US Treasury imposed sanctions on the suspects, their colleagues, and the company they were working for.
Prosecutors say Iranians sent emails containing fake news and threats to both Democratic and Republican voters in the fall of 2020. They also distributed photos allegedly showing election fraud. In addition, they tried to gain access to the editorial system of a major American media company.
Stolen credentials
The investigation into the intervention has been ongoing for some time. Ahead of the presidential election in November last year, the Justice and Security Forces accused Iran of sending spam emails to Democratic voters in order to get them to vote for then-President Trump. Trump campaign officials allegedly received fake emails about Democrats planning to rig the election.
Even after the election, Iranians were said to have tried to discredit the election results through false emails and self-produced videos. One day after the election, they tried to get into the editorial system of an undisclosed media company with stolen credentials, according to US Justice League.
Still in Iran
The Iranian suspects have not been arrested. According to the judiciary, they are still in Iran. The US authorities hope that the indictment and the sanctions imposed will prevent the intruders from traveling.
