Iranians are creating fake news websites and looking to activists to wreak havoc in the US, Microsoft has found.

Iranian actors have also spent the past few months creating fake news sites and targeting activists, laying the groundwork to fuel division and potentially sway American voters this fall, particularly in swing states, the tech giant found.

Findings in Microsoft’s latest threat intelligence report show how Iran, which was active in the last US election, is developing its tactics for another election that could have global implications. The report goes a step beyond what US intelligence officials have disclosed, providing specific examples of Iranian groups and the actions they have taken so far. Iran’s mission to the United Nations has denied plans to interfere or launch cyber attacks in the US presidential election.

The report does not specify Iran’s intentions beyond wreaking havoc in the United States, although US officials have previously suggested that Iran is particularly opposed to former President Donald Trump. US officials have also expressed alarm over Tehran’s efforts to seek revenge for a 2020 strike on an Iranian general ordered by Trump. This week, the Justice Department unsealed criminal charges against a Pakistani man with ties to Iran who is alleged to have masterminded an assassination plot targeting several officials, including Trump.

The report also reveals how Russia and China are exploiting US political polarization to push their own divisive messages in a back-to-back election year.

Microsoft’s report identified four examples of recent Iranian activity that the company expects to increase as the November election nears.

First, a group linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard targeted a senior US presidential campaign official in June with a phishing email, a form of cyberattack often used to gather sensitive information, according to the report. which did not identify the targeted campaign. . The group hid the origins of the email by sending it from the hacked email account of a former senior adviser, Microsoft said.

A few days later, the Iranian group tried to log into an account belonging to a former presidential candidate but failed, Microsoft’s report said. The company has notified those who have been targeted.

In a separate example, an Iranian group created websites posing as US news sites targeting voters on opposite sides of the political spectrum, the report said.

A fake news site that caters to a left-leaning audience insults Trump by calling him a “crazy lunatic” and suggests he uses drugs, the report said. Another site aimed at attracting Republican readers focuses on LGBTQ issues and gender-affirmation surgery.

A third example Microsoft cited found Iranian groups eyeing American activists, potentially laying the groundwork for influence operations closer to the election.

Finally, another Iranian group compromised an account held by a government employee in a volatile state in May, the report said. It was unclear whether that cyber attack was linked to election interference efforts.

Iran’s UN mission sent the Associated Press an emailed statement: “Iran has been the victim of numerous offensive cyber operations targeting its infrastructure, public service centers and industries. Iran’s cyber capabilities are defensive and commensurate with the threats it faces. Iran has neither the intention nor the plans to launch cyber attacks. The US presidential election is an internal matter in which Iran does not interfere.”

Microsoft’s report said that as Iran ramps up its cyber influence, Russia-linked actors have also shifted their influence campaigns to focus on the US election, while actors linked to the Chinese Communist Party have taken advantage of university protests pro -Palestinian and other current events. in the US to try to increase political tensions in the US.

Microsoft said it continued to monitor how foreign adversaries use generative AI technology. The increasingly cheap and easily accessible tools can generate lifelike fake images, photos and videos in seconds, prompting some experts to worry they will be weaponized to mislead voters this election cycle.

Although many countries have experimented with artificial intelligence in their influence operations, the company said, these efforts have not had much impact so far. The report says that as a result, some actors “have reverted to techniques that have proven effective in the past – simple digital manipulations, mischaracterization of content, and the use of trusted labels or logos on top of false information.”

Microsoft’s report aligns with recent warnings from US intelligence officials, who say America’s adversaries appear determined to plant the internet with false and inflammatory claims ahead of the November vote.

Senior intelligence officials said last month that Russia remains the biggest threat when it comes to election disinformation, while there are signs that Iran is expanding its efforts and China is treading carefully when it comes to 2024.

Iran’s efforts appear to be aimed at undermining candidates seen as more likely to increase tension with Tehran, officials said. That’s a description that fits Trump, whose administration struck a nuclear deal with Iran, reimposed sanctions and ordered the killing of Iran’s top general.

The influence efforts also coincide with a period of high tensions between Iran and Israel, whose military the US strongly supports.

The Director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines, said last month that the Iranian government secretly supported American protests against Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. Iran-linked groups have posed as activists online, encouraged protests and provided financial support to protest groups, Haines said.

America’s enemies, among them Iran, have a long history of seeking to influence US elections. In 2020, Iran-linked groups sent emails to Democratic voters in an apparent effort to sway their votes, intelligence officials said.

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Associated Press writers David Klepper and Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report.

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