A Microsoft blog post on Wednesday said that as US election day draws closer, an Iranian hacker collective is actively searching American media outlets and websites linked to the election. The action, according to researchers, indicates “preparations for more direct influence operations.”
According to the study, the hackers, who Microsoft dubbed Cotton Sandstorm and who were associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, conducted reconnaissance and limited probing of numerous “election-related websites” in a number of swing states that have not been identified. They also conducted a vulnerability analysis of an unnamed US news organization in May.
“Cotton Sandstorm will increase its activity as the election nears, given the group’s operational tempo and history of election interference,” researchers wrote. The group’s prior efforts make the situation especially worrisome.
A spokesperson for Iran’s mission to the United Nations said that “such allegations are fundamentally unfounded and wholly inadmissible.”
“Iran neither has any motive nor intent to interfere in the US election,” they added.
Shortly before the most recent presidential election in 2020, Cotton Sandstorm initiated a different cyber-enabled influence effort. Under the guise of the right-wing “Proud Boys,” the hackers threatened Florida citizens with thousands of emails, telling them to “vote for Trump or else!”
Additionally, the organization posted a video on social media that purportedly showed hacktivists examining an election system. Senior U.S. officials stated at the time that the operation’s objective was to sow confusion, disruption, and doubt, even if it had no effect on specific voting systems.
According to Microsoft, Cotton Sandstorm also carried out a different campaign after the 2020 election that promoted violence against US election officials who refuted allegations of rampant voter fraud.
A request for comment was not immediately answered by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which is leading the federal effort to protect the election from outside interference.
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