Iranian groups target WhatsApp accounts linked to US election campaigns

Meta has revealed that some WhatsApp accounts associated with U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s team were targeted by Iranian groups.

In a statement regarding “malicious accounts” on the digital messaging app WhatsApp, Meta reported that Iranian-origin groups attempted to target accounts linked to the Trump team and Biden administration, as well as individuals in the Middle East, the U.S., and the U.K.

The statement indicated that there was no evidence showing these accounts had been compromised. It also noted that the accounts pretending to be support personnel for various tech companies had been shut down.

Trump campaign claims email attack

On Aug. 11, Trump’s campaign team announced that their email addresses had been attacked, with Iran being accused of the breach related to sensitive campaign documents.

In a joint statement released on Aug. 20, the FBI, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency confirmed that U.S. intelligence is aware that Iranians are attempting to access individuals directly involved in election campaigns through social engineering. These activities aim to influence the U.S. election process.

The statement also claimed that Iran’s attempts to affect election outcomes are not new, and the FBI has been investigating such activities for a long time.