Three Iranian hackers charged by DOJ with orchestrating cyberattacks against Trump campaign

The U.S. Justice Department filed a complaint against three Iranian nationals, employees of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), accusing them of participating in a hacking plot targeting former President Donald Trump's presidential campaign.

According to the release issued Friday, the suspects, Masoud Jalili, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri and Yasar Balaghi, created an extensive cyberattack scheme against U.S. political figures "to stoke discord, erode confidence in the U.S. electoral process, and unlawfully acquire information relating to current and former U.S. officials that could be used to advance the malign activities of the IRGC."

Indictments and Charges

According to the federal indictment, the three Iranians face a number of serious charges, including conspiracy to illegally access computer systems, aggravated identity theft, electronic fraud and authentication tampering. They are accused of orchestrating a hacking campaign using spear phishing and social engineering techniques to compromise the accounts of government officials, members of the media and individuals linked to political campaigns, including senior members of the Trump campaign.

In June of this year, according to authorities, hackers stole the information and attempted to "weaponize campaign material" by sharing it with contacts close to Joe Biden's then-presidential campaign and media outlets.

The geopolitical context: a long history of tensions

This is not the first attempt at Iranian cyberattack against former President Trump. The U.S. government has reiterated that Iran has been a hostile actor since the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, a former Qods Force commander, ordered by Trump in 2020. Since then, the former president's political and personal interests have been the target of direct threats and attacks, including efforts to destabilize the U.S. electoral process.

The Trump campaign recently confirmed that the former president was informed about "real and specific threats" from Iran, including plans to make an attempt on his life. Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung called these threats part of a broader strategy by the Islamic Republic to "sow chaos and destabilize the United States."

The response of authorities

In response to these threats, U.S. intelligence agencies and law enforcement say they have stepped up their efforts to protect the former president and ensure that the upcoming election will proceed without foreign interference.

"The Justice Department is working relentlessly to uncover and counter Iran’s cyberattacks aimed at stoking discord, undermining confidence in our democratic institutions, and influencing our elections. The American people – not Iran, or any other foreign power – will decide the outcome of our country’s elections," said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.