DHS and FBI say hackers from Islamic Republic of Iran are targeting state election websites, pushing disinformation
BY ROBERT SPENCER
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:
The mullahs had it so good from 2009 to 2017, they’re working hard to restore the status quo ante.
“DHS and FBI warn Iranian hackers are targeting state election websites and pushing disinformation,” by Jerry Dunleavy, Washington Examiner, October 31, 2020:
An Iranian cyber group was responsible for the targeting of U.S. election websites, the voter intimidation emails sent to potential voters, and the dissemination of election-related disinformation on voter fraud through a propaganda video this month, according to the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI.
DHS’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the bureau issued a joint cybersecurity advisory related to an Iranian “advanced persistent threat” hacker organization just a few days before Tuesday’s presidential election, saying the U.S. analysis indicated that the Iranians had also “scanned state websites, to include state election websites” in late September and that it was also observed “attempting to exploit websites to obtain copies of voter registration data” in September and October. CISA and the FBI confirmed that the Iranian hackers “successfully obtained voter registration data in at least one state” and that “a review of the records that were copied and obtained reveals the information was used in the propaganda video.”
An FBI FLASH Alert also noted that Iranian cyber actors “are likely intent on influencing and interfering with the U.S. elections to sow discord among voters and undermine public confidence in the US electoral process” and “are creating fictitious media sites and spoofing legitimate media sites to spread anti-American propaganda and misinformation about voter suppression.” The FBI said that the Iranians “had taken specific actions to influence public opinion relating to the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election” and advised that the Iranian-backed propaganda video that has circulated online “is almost certainly intended to make U.S. voter information and the voting process appear insecure and susceptible to fraud.”
There is no indication that the Iranian hackers have changed any votes or that they have the ability to interfere with any tallies….