Microsoft says Iran is intensifying cyber-attacks to influence presidential election

Microsoft declared this Thursday that Iran is stepping up cyberattacks in the country in the wake of the upcoming presidential elections to be held in November.

Specifically, Big Tech explained that the Asian country was creating several websites with fake news that use artificial intelligence with which plagiarize "at least part of the content" to create information with the aim of increasing the ideological division in the country. This was stated in a blog post by Clint Watts, general manager of Microsoft's Threat Analysis Center:

"They have laid the groundwork for influence campaigns on trending election-related topics and begun to activate these campaigns in an apparent effort to stir up controversy or sway voters – especially in swing states."Clint Watts, general manager of Microsoft's Threat Analysis Center.

Of particular concern is the increase detected by the technology company over the past six months, which is why they issued this report, stating in the blog post:

"Foreign malign influence in relation to the 2024 US election started slowly, but has been steadily gaining pace over the past six months due initially to Russian operations, but more recently to Iranian activity."Clint Watts, general manager of Microsoft's Threat Analysis Center.

The technology company also warned of the collaboration that they had detected between Iran and Russia as cyberattacks were not only coming from Iranian agents, but also from Russian servers:

"Iran's operations have been notable and distinguishable from Russian campaigns for appearing later in the election season and employing cyberattacks aimed more at electoral behavior than at influencing voters. Recent activity suggests that the Iranian regime - along with the Kremlin - could be similarly involved in the 2024 election."Clint Watts, general manager of Microsoft's Threat Analysis Center.

The expert gave several examples of these fake news websites. Thus, he detailed, a recently appeared site is the Nio Thinker, a progressive-leaning online site launched in October 2023 and reporting mainly on issues of the war between Israel and Hamas or with posts in which they mock ex-president and Republican candidate Donald Trump defining him as an "opioid-drugged elephant in the MAGA glassworks" or a "delusional litigantsaurus."

Conservatives are the focus of the cyberattacks. As Big Tech explained, a media outlet called Savannah Time, whose headquarters is allegedly registered in Savannah, Georgia, also appeared, defining itself as a "trusted source of conservative news." However, Microsoft warns, despite the fact that they publish information about controversial topics such as transgender surgery or other topics related to LGBT+ lobbying, this website, like Nio Thinker is absolutely false.