Two Iranian hackers are suspected of intimidating voters and spreading fake news surrounding last year’s US presidential election. The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on the two suspects, their colleagues and the company they worked for.
Prosecutors say the Iranians sent emails containing fake news and threats to both Democratic and Republican voters in the fall of 2020. They also distributed images that allegedly showed 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 interference had been going on for some time. Prior to the presidential election in November last year, justice and security forces accused Iran of sending harassing 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 election fraud.
Even after the elections, the Iranians are said to have tried to question the reliability of the election results with false e-mails and self-produced videos. A day after the election, they tried to get into the editorial system of an undisclosed media company with stolen credentials, according to the American justice.
Still in Iran
The suspected Iranians have not been arrested; according to the justice system, they are still in Iran. The US authorities hope that the indictment and the imposed sanctions will prevent the hackers from traveling.
–
