Exposing Iranian Electoral Interference

(New York, N.Y.) – On Wednesday, the U.S. government determined that the Islamic Republic of Iran is working to interfere in the U.S. presidential election by intimidating voters. Reuters also reported that there is evidence Iran had tried to hack into voter roll data in certain states. The U.S. intelligence community has previously warned Iran aims to “undermine U.S. democratic institutions, President Trump, and to divide the country in advance of the 2020 elections.” Iran’s use of faked emails was aimed to erode voter confidence in the U.S. presidential election.

Such behavior follows repeated Iranian cyber and information operations directed at the United States and its allies. In addition to its failed efforts at intimidating voters, Iran has targeted American officials and U.S. military personnel by taking control of their Google accounts, attempted to hack email accounts of U.S. presidential campaigns and the World Health Organization, tried to disrupt the public conversation on Twitter during the first U.S. presidential debate, and attempted a cyberattack on Israel’s water supplies. For every step the Islamic Republic has taken, officials have been on guard to defend against these operations.

United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) has documented recent episodes in a new report, The Iranian Cyber Threat. It analyzes the regime’s cyber decision-making structure, modus operandi, and offers recommendations on how to combat this growing threat.

To read UANI’s report, The Iranian Cyber Threat, please click here. 

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