Iranian Hacking Group Targets U.S. Election Websites

By Christopher Bing and A.J. Vicens

(Reuters) – An Iranian hacking group is actively scouting U.S. election-related websites and American media outlets as Election Day nears, indicating preparations for more "direct influence operations," according to a Microsoft blog published on Wednesday.

The hackers, dubbed Cotton Sandstorm by Microsoft and linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, have performed reconnaissance and limited probing of multiple election-related websites in several unnamed battleground states. In May, they scanned an unidentified U.S. news outlet to assess its vulnerabilities.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, faces Republican rival Donald Trump in the Nov. 5 presidential election, which polls suggest is an extremely tight race.

"Cotton Sandstorm will increase its activity as the election nears given the group's operational tempo and history of election interference," researchers wrote. The development is particularly concerning due to the group's past efforts.

A spokesperson for Iran's mission to the United Nations stated, "such allegations are fundamentally unfounded, and wholly inadmissible." They emphasized that Iran has no motive or intent to interfere in the U.S. election.

In 2020, Cotton Sandstorm engaged in a different cyber-enabled influence operation shortly before the presidential election. Posing as the right-wing Proud Boys, the hackers sent thousands of threatening emails to Florida residents, demanding they "vote for Trump or else!"

The group also released a social media video, supposedly from activist hackers, showcasing them probing an election system. Although that operation did not affect individual voting systems, the intent was to create chaos, confusion, and doubt, according to senior U.S. officials at the time.

Following the 2020 election, Cotton Sandstorm also executed a campaign encouraging violence against U.S. election officials who dismissed widespread voter fraud claims, Microsoft reported.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, coordinating the U.S. federal effort against foreign influence in elections, reiterated that foreign actors — especially Russia, Iran, and China — aim to spread divisive narratives to undermine Americans’ confidence in the democratic system.