Federal prosecutors have filed criminal charges against several Iranian hackers accused of targeting former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign participants as part of a malicious cyber scheme, multiple sources familiar with the investigation confirmed to CBS News.
The Iranian hackers were indicted by a grand jury on Thursday, and charges could be announced as early as Friday, the sources said. Because the charging documents are sealed, the nature of the charges and the names of the defendants are unknown. The exact number of claimants has not been confirmed.
ABC News and Politico first reported elements of the allegations.
A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment on the CBS News report. A Trump campaign spokeswoman also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Once publicly announced, federal efforts to combat the allegations will expand. Iran’s efforts Intervene in the 2024 presidential election. Federal officials have warned that Iran is seeking to undermine the Trump campaign.
The FBI launched an investigation earlier this summer after the Trump and then-Biden campaigns. Have experience with phishing attempts Sources told CBS News in August that people associated with the candidates were targeted.
Last week, federal officials from the FBI and other intelligence agencies reported that “malicious cybercriminals in Iran sent unsolicited emails to individuals associated with President Biden’s campaign in late June and early July. These emails contained stolen, non-public documents.” “Contains excerpts from ,” a statement confirming said. “The email contains campaign materials from former President Trump, and we currently have no information that the recipient has responded.”
“Iranian malicious cyber actors have been making ongoing efforts since June to send stolen, non-public material related to former President Trump’s campaign to U.S. media organizations… ”
Iran’s mission to the United Nations denied it in an interview with CBS News last week, saying, “The Islamic Republic of Iran is not involved in the internal turmoil or election controversy in the United States,” and “has no plans to launch cyberattacks or interfere with the U.S. presidential election.” He added, “Iran has absolutely no motive or intention to interfere in the U.S. election and therefore categorically denies such accusations.”
trump’s campaign released last month It said it had been hacked and that Iranian actors were involved in stealing sensitive internal documents and distributing them to journalists.
FBI agents worked with two major technology companies and email service providers, Google and Microsoft, to investigate spearphishing attacks that appear to have targeted people close to both presidential campaigns, according to two people familiar with the investigation. A report released by Microsoft earlier this summer found that Iran is evolving tactics to influence the upcoming election.
Trump and members of his former administration have been targeted by Iranian actors including: murder Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in 2020. Some former officials have received heightened protection following death threats, and in July federal prosecutors prosecution Against Iranian-linked Pakistani nationals accused of plotting to assassinate American politicians, including Trump.
Iran is not the only foreign enemy U.S. officials say is trying to interfere with the upcoming presidential election. Intelligence agencies have warned that Russia and China have launched their own cyber campaigns to unravel the chaos, with Russia reportedly seeking to disrupt Vice President Kamala Harris’ bid for the White House.
“We’re seeing more threat actors getting into the game,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said Thursday at an event hosted by the Atlantic Council about election interference being made worse by advances in artificial intelligence. .
The goal, according to Monaco, is “to sow discord and distrust in our electoral system and undermine trust in the democratic process.”
and Nicole Sganga contributed to this report.
