Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has taken action to block several WhatsApp groups linked to Iranian hackers, amid rising concerns over interference in the upcoming US presidential election. These groups were reportedly connected to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and were involved in a broader campaign to influence the 2024 election.
According to Meta, the hackers posed as technical support on WhatsApp, targeting individuals associated with both the Biden and Trump administrations. This group had previously attempted phishing attacks on individuals connected to Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign, as well as political and diplomatic officials, business leaders, and other public figures in Israel, Palestine, Iran, the US, and the UK.
The hackers employed social engineering tactics, pretending to be technical support for major tech companies like AOL, Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft. Their aim was to trick targets into revealing sensitive information such as account passwords.
Meta identified the campaign after some targets reported suspicious messages on WhatsApp. Although there is no evidence that the hackers successfully compromised any accounts, Meta has shared its findings with law enforcement and other tech companies.
The US government has also noted Iran’s attempts to hack both Republican and Democratic
