Iran ramping up US election interference efforts: Microsoft

WASHINGTON: Fake news sites, hacking, cyber attacks -- Iran is ramping up efforts to influence US elections this fall, Microsoft said on Friday, following warnings from American officials about the threat of foreign interference.

Among the Iranian-built sites masquerading as news portals are “Nio Thinker,” which has a left-leaning stance and frequently insults former president Donald Trump, and another aimed at conservative audiences called “Savannah Time” that focuses on Republican politics and LGBTQ issues, the tech giant said in a report.

The sites appear to be plagiarizing some of their content from US publications using artificial intelligence tools, the report from the Microsoft Threat Analysis Centre (MTAC) added. Groups linked to the Iranian government 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,” said Clint Watts, MTAC´s general manager.

“They´ve launched operations that Microsoft assesses are designed to gain intelligence on political campaigns and help enable them to influence the elections in the future.” Since March, a separate Iran-linked group has been impersonating social and political activists online, setting itself up for extreme activities including intimidation or inciting violence against political figures, the report said. The ultimate goal of the group appears to be inciting chaos and sowing doubt about election integrity, it added.

Another Iranian group linked with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard compromised the email account of a former adviser to a presidential campaign.