The US has charged two Iranians hackers for trying to intimidate voters during the 2020 US presidential election and undermine confidence in the results.
On Thursday, the Justice Department unsealed an indictment against 24-year-old Seyyed Mohammad Hosein Musa Kazemi and 27-year-old Sajjad Kashian for allegedly committing the hacking activities, which grabbed headlines during the presidential race.
According to the federal officials, Kazemi and Kashian sent fake emails and Facebook messages to both Republicans and Democrats while impersonating the Proud Boys, a far-right group.
This included bombarding Republicans, including Trump campaign staffers and White House advisors, with claims that the Democratic party was preparing to exploit IT vulnerabilities to manipulate voter registration databases. The group also emailed tens of thousands of Democrat voters as the Proud Boys, demanding they vote for Trump or risk facing physical harm.
In addition, Kazemi and Kashian allegedly breached a US state database, which allowed them to steal information on more than 100,000 local voters. However, federal officials told journalists in a briefing on Thursday there’s no evidence the suspects ever changed any votes during the election. Rather, their goal was to sow chaos.
Federal officials also claim the pair were behind an election conspiracy video that pretended to come from the Proud Boys. The clip depicted an individual hacking into state voter websites by using stolen voter information to create fraudulent absentee ballots through a program used by military and oversea voters. However, security researchers later uncovered the same video may have also leaked information about the hackers’ identities by accidentally revealing an Iranian-linked IP address during the footage.
Perhaps the most serious hacking offense the pair nearly pulled off involved breaching an unnamed media company that had access to content management systems at dozens of US newspapers. According to the indictment, Kazemi and Kashian planned on using the access to spread fake articles about the election’s outcome after Nov. 4. But by then, the media company had patched its IT systems with the help of the FBI.
The indictment stops short of alleging the Iranian government sponsored the hacks and the disinformation campaigns. However, federal officials note that both Kazemi and Kashian work for an Iranian cybersecurity company called Emennet Pasargad, which has provided services to the Iranian government. As a result, the US Treasury Department is sanctioning Emennet Pasargad, along with Kazemi and Kashian and four others who work at the company.
The whereabouts of Kazemi and Kashian remain unclear. But the US has been active in arresting indicted hackers the moment they travel outside their home countries. Federal officials also want today’s charges to send a clear message that the US is prepared to prosecute foreign hackers who attempt to interfere in US elections.
In a statement, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Mark Warner says today’s charges and sanctions “are further evidence that attempts to interfere in our elections will continue, and we must all be on guard against them.”
