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A hacking group linked to the Iranian government tried to breach the email accounts of presidential campaign staffers\u00a0as part of a wider effort to gather intelligence ahead of the US election, Microsoft<\/a> Corp. said\u00a0Friday.<\/p>\n Attackers connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps<\/a> in June used a compromised email address from a\u00a0former political adviser to\u00a0try phishing\u00a0another high-ranking presidential campaign official, according to findings from Microsoft\u2019s Threat Analysis Center.\u00a0That group, which Microsoft calls Mint Sandstorm, also unsuccessfully attempted to log in to the account of a former presidential candidate. The report didn\u2019t identify the individual targets by name.<\/p>\n Other Iranian groups are using artificial intelligence technology to publish content online insulting\u00a0former president Donald Trump and create inflammatory posts about controversial issues such as gender reassignment surgery, according to the report.<\/p>\n Microsoft researchers also said that Iranian groups that have historically tried to undermine trust in the electoral system\u00a0have since March been preparing to launch influence operations.\u00a0Using websites with fabricated and plagiarized content, supposed media operations launched by Iranian groups also have sought to amplify polarizing political messaging about topics such as presidential candidates and Israel\u2019s war against Hamas, researchers found.<\/p>\n The findings are the latest evidence that\u00a0foreign governments are conducting\u00a0clandestine operations ahead of\u00a0US elections in November. American intelligence\u00a0officials in July<\/a>\u00a0warned that Russia, China and Iran were recruiting people in the US to spread propaganda. A representative from the Iranian government denied that allegation.<\/p>\n Iranian operatives in 2020 impersonated members of the right-wing Proud Boys group as part of a voter intimidation effort, according to the FBI,\u00a0resulting in charges<\/a>\u00a0against two men. That same year, Iranian hackers breached a website that a municipal\u00a0government in the US used to publish election results, though the attackers were caught before carrying out any nefarious activity, US cybersecurity officials said.<\/p>\n Nation-state hackers have long used email attacks to try infiltrating American political\u00a0campaigns, such as the Russian hack in 2016 in which a state-sponsored group ultimately published internal emails from Hillary Clinton\u2019s staffers.<\/p>\n The US\u00a0State Department on Wednesday identified six alleged Iranian hackers accused of compromising industrial control systems used by American\u00a0public utilities.<\/p>\n The Iranian government didn\u2019t immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n CEO Daily provides key context for the news leaders need to know from across the world of business. Every weekday morning, more than 125,000 readers trust CEO Daily for insights about\u2013and from inside\u2013the C-suite. Subscribe Now<\/a>.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\nRecommended Newsletter:<\/strong><\/p>\n