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'Invasive' Iranian Intelligence Group Believed to Be The Ones Who Breached Trump's Campaign (reuters.com) 98

Reuters reports that the Iranian hacking team which compromised the campaign of U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump "is known for placing surveillance software on the mobile phones of its victims, enabling them to record calls, steal texts and silently turn on cameras and microphones, according to researchers and experts who follow the group." Known as APT42 or CharmingKitten by the cybersecurity research community, the accused Iranian hackers are widely believed to be associated with an intelligence division inside Iran's military, known as the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or IRGC-IO. Their appearance in the U.S. election is noteworthy, sources told Reuters, because of their invasive espionage approach against high-value targets in Washington and Israel. "What makes (APT42) incredibly dangerous is this idea that they are an organization that has a history of physically targeting people of interest," said John Hultquist, chief analyst with U.S. cybersecurity firm Mandiant, who referenced past research that found the group surveilling the cell phones of Iranian activists and protesters... Hultquist said the hackers commonly use mobile malware that allows them to "record phone calls, room audio recordings, pilfer SMS (text) inboxes, take images off of a machine," and gather geolocation data...

APT42 also commonly impersonates journalists and Washington think tanks in complex, email-based social engineering operations that aim to lure their targeting into opening booby-trapped messages, which let them takeover systems. The group's "credential phishing campaigns are highly targeted and well-researched; the group typically targets a small number of individuals," said Josh Miller, a threat analyst with email security company Proofpoint. They often target anti-Iran activists, reporters with access to sources inside Iran, Middle Eastern academics and foreign-policy advisers. This has included the hacking of western government officials and American defense contractors. For example, in 2018, the hackers targeted nuclear workers and U.S. Treasury department officials around the time the United States formally withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), said Allison Wikoff, a senior cyber intelligence analyst with professional services company PricewaterhouseCoopers.

"APT42 is still actively targeting campaign officials and former Trump administration figures critical of Iran, according to a blog post by Google's cybersecurity research team."
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'Invasive' Iranian Intelligence Group Believed to Be The Ones Who Breached Trump's Campaign

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  • He's just getting carted around to Rallies. The last two elections he embezzled the money given to him so the 1% just isn't giving him any money this time and the stuff he's raised he's either pocketed for himself by funneling it through shell companies or spent it on legal fees because RNC was already broke so that wasn't anything there to loot.

    Instead of giving him money the 1% formed multimillion dollar super pacs to run the campaign without Trump. If Trump is somehow elected he won't really be presi
    • That is not a Trump issue, that's a democracy issue. Gone are the days of leaders, now it's just special interests that control your favorite puppet. Any candidate capable of making REAL change happen will have no backing whatsoever. Being willing to be a puppet is the very first and the most fundamental requirement that will get you funding for your campaign. After all the donations those candidates receive are nothing but investments, and their investors expect to receive their returns.
      One candidate might

      • by hey! ( 33014 ) on Saturday August 24, 2024 @05:45PM (#64732256) Homepage Journal

        No, it's a Trump problem. All politicians may have to play footsie with special interests to fund their campaigns, but Trump is the only one milking campaigns for personal financial gain. You pretty much have to be in real estate to play that game.

        One candidate might not be equal to another, but the idea that "my guy is better than your guy" is how democracy got us to the mess we're in now.

        You've got that backwards. It's saying, "well, everyone does it" when someone on your side gets caught. That *normalizes* corruption. If everyone else is doing it, then only *suckers* aren't doing it. This is why you see so many instances of Republicans getting caught stealing votes: they're consuming propaganda saying the 2020 election was stolen, so they'd be suckers if they didn't steal back.

        The correct response when someone on your side gets caught committing a crime is "Throw them in jail because I'm not voting for them."

        • by e3m4n ( 947977 )

          its why i keep voting libertarian. I cant vote for trump. As a vet I took an oath to protect the constitution. When he asked asked Pence to negate the electoral college vote that was a step too far. Popular vote doesnt mean shit as far as the constitution goes. The constitution says each states legislature shall sends its electors. The fact you get to vote at all for president is a privilege extended to you by your state and its constitution. The only thing that matters is the actual electoral votes. Recent

      • You can tell because they are already calling her a communist. When they bring out the c word you know somebody's doing something right. Basically ruffling the feathers of the ultra wealthy who pull your strings and mine.

        I think that when Nancy pelosi's husband was almost beaten to death that was the thing that got the Democrats shocked out of their system. You would think the January 6th riot / coup attempt would have been enough but I don't think any of them ever felt like they were in any real danger
        • by e3m4n ( 947977 )

          In order to protect democracy we must dictate who your candidate us. The former chair of the DNC blew the whistle on how HRC rigged the 2016 primaries. Here we are in 2024 and they are doing it again. Dont believe for a minute that the significantly early presidential debate was genuine. Kamala was so unelectable she was the first one to drop out in 2019. When you openly say you dont care what the constitution says youre gonna do it anyway with the executive orders, it makes you a tool. You can erase all ev

          • by Moryath ( 553296 )

            Well, you were completely incoherent, and you're spewing a gish gallop of bullshit retarded lies, but what the heck, I've got time to dismantle your screed.

            In order to protect democracy we must dictate who your candidate us.

            Tipping your hand that you're a white-supremacist republican troll.

            The former chair of the DNC blew the whistle on how HRC rigged the 2016 primaries. Nope. The disgruntled Donna Brazile wrote some stuff about financing, stuff that the evidence proved false. Bernie simply wasn't

            • by e3m4n ( 947977 )

              You didn’t even vote. You know how I know? Because harris’s name wasn’t on the fucking ballot. You didn’t even vote. You know how I know? Because Harris’s name wasn’t on the fucking ballot. There is no vice president candidate spot on the goddamn primaries you fucking idiot. The vice president doesn’t get picked until the convention even when you’re re-running. You’re a fucking liar and a shill. If you weren’t so busy pill abiding, you might’

              • by Moryath ( 553296 )

                I've seen dumb lying fuck crossburners before, but you're one of the dumbest lying, crossburning white-supremacist sacks of shit I've ever seen. Go back to fucking your sister in your trailer park, Klan Fuckboy.

                Oh and for the "bathhouse" insinuation that I'm gay? Yeah. Shove your burning cross up your America Hating Klan Shit Ass, you fucking piece of crap who ought to be shot and left in a fucking gutter with the rest of your Klan Fuck Inbred family.

                • by e3m4n ( 947977 )

                  Awwww did I hit da wittle pillow-biters wittle bitty nerves? All unhinged like an irate squirrel. You talk a lot of shit for a coward. Moryath, or should I say an alternate account. Yea we know who you are. One of the many alternative logins. Doesnt change the fact you’re a chump and too much a coward to enlist. Always wanting someone else to fight your battles for you. Isnt that right? Couldn’t fight your way out of a wet paper bag so you think its ok to just order someone else to do it. Thats

                  • by Moryath ( 553296 )

                    Ooh, "pillow biter," another homophobic slur.

                    Stick a shotgun in your mouth and pull the trigger, you subhuman crossburning fucking sister humper. Your whole family are a cancerous sarcoma we should just wipe away from the gene pool.

                  • by Moryath ( 553296 )

                    Oh and by the way you America Hating Fucking Crossburning Shit: my family has more veterans than you ever will. And yes I did enlist.

                    So go shove a gun up your ass and pull the trigger you disgusting fucking Klan Traitor to America.

                    • by e3m4n ( 947977 )

                      Aww poor wittle twiggered wittle baby. More lies. You never did your 8 year obligation. Consider your answers wisely. Youre about to out yourself for the lies you’re spewing. You act all of 17. I wont hesitate to point out your lies and stolen valor id you keep pretending to be a vet.

                    • by Moryath ( 553296 )
                      There you go again. "8 year obligation" isn't a term, it's the MSO, you fucking valor-stealing sack of treason shit.
                    • by e3m4n ( 947977 )

                      Right there. You blew it. First week of bootcamp you get told you signed up for an 8yr obligation. Some of it is active duty. Some isnt. I laid a trap you fell right into it. Stolen valor. I warned you.

        • by Moryath ( 553296 )

          Point of order - Trump and his Klanfuck Republican Party have been calling Harris a "communist" since long before the 2020 election. [nymag.com]

          But these Dumb Klan Fucks also called Barack Obama a communist, and MLK Jr a communist... John Lewis... Medgar Evers... W.E.B. Dubois... I sense a pattern. White-supremacist crossburning retarded fucks like "iAmWaySmarterThanyou" equate being black with being "communist."

          And then there's also the Klan Fucks like Trump, Ted Cruz, etc... using "cultural marxism" as a sneer. S

      • No, it definitely is a Trump issue.

        Despite it's serious imperfections democracy is still the best system for designating authority to our leaders. Trump is the only presidential candidate who refused to accept an election as the means of choosing the nations leader - when that election went against him. That action also breaks his Presidential oath to protect and defend the constitution - specifically the 12th amendment - so it also renders him constitutionally unfit for public office.

    • JD Vance will be running the show with Peter Thiel behind him.

      Perhaps. But the VP has no actual power other than breaking ties in the Senate. JD will only be running things if Trump backs him. Otherwise, Trump's cabinet and advisors will ignore him.

      Iran doesn't particularly want Donald Trump to be president

      It isn't clear what Iran wants. Trump is more pro-Israel but less anti-Russia, and Russia is Iran's ally.

      Iran wants a Russian victory in Ukraine but prefers to avoid a hot war with Israel until they finish their nuke project.

      • Consider: a VP who is in a billionaire's pocket, offering very large checks to a cabinet of yes-men who have already proven themselves beyond reason to be "pliable" with ethics, morals, and truth. And then add in the 25th Amendment, and all the circumstantial evidence we've seen for months of Trump being off his axle.

        This is how an oligarchy installs a puppet, if you're of the conspiratorial mind.

        • "This is how an oligarchy installs a puppet". And how does hand-picked Kamala compare on this standard?
          • And how does hand-picked Kamala compare on this standard?

            Kamala was hand-picked by Joe Biden.

            Joe is now out of the picture.

            So, who is Kamala beholden to? Who is her Thiel?

            • by Entrope ( 68843 )

              Joe Biden didn't pick Harris to replace him as nominee. Remember, his first Twit about dropping out didn't name anyone as his replacement. Nancy Pelosi told him that he could resign or else they would use the 25th Amendment to remove him from office -- and that Kamala had approved using the 25th. Do you think the guy who challenges voters to step outside for a fight would nominate his VP after she stabs him in the back like that?

          • This is absolutely the most asinine talking point that you clowns can come up with.

            As it turns out, both parties have rules in place for if the person who is in the lead for the nomination either drops out or is incapable of running previous to the nominee being named and accepted.

            The DNC followed their rules. Literally anybody could have declared themselves in contention, and all they had to do was get 300 delegates to sign on to their bid.

            It's not Harris's fault that nobody bothered. It's similarly not

      • by DrMrLordX ( 559371 ) on Saturday August 24, 2024 @05:50PM (#64732264)

        Trump ordered the assassination of Soleimani. They know he's willing to knock off their people.

        • by gtall ( 79522 )

          Yup, and now we know he's willing to knock off our people. Did the Jan. 6 insurrection pass you by? And his lawyers claimed he could order Seal Team 6 to knock off a political opponent because that asshole thinks the President should have no adult supervision. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court thinks so as well, after all it isn't one of theirs who would likely go tits up. The Republicans are for flooding the U.S. with guns for a reason.

          • by Entrope ( 68843 )

            Trump didn't order the January 6th riots, much less order anyone to kill anyone else.

            The actual claim [thehill.com] that Trump's lawyers made about Seal Team Six is that a president could not be criminally prosecuted for that -- because impeachment is the only constitutional remedy for that kind of offense. Let's explore why....

            First, there is the case that such an order is legitimate. Presumably Barack Obama's order to kill Anwar al-Awlaki (a US citizen) was legitimate; otherwise, he could still be prosecuted for this

            • Trump didn't order the January 6th riots, much less order anyone to kill anyone else.

              That doesn't get him out of any liability. He clearly incited insurrection - those fkrs had t-shirts printed for the event - and did nothing to stop it until it was evident he wasn't going to achieve the results he wanted: Pence taken away, and Grassley performing the final steps on the coup to keep Trump in power. Did he say, directly, "I want you to storm the Capitol"? No. He didn't need to: his intent was clear, and was carried out as he wanted; just not well enough.

              • by Entrope ( 68843 )

                That's not how legal liability works. Your attempts at mindreading and blaming him because others made T-shirts don't actually have any legal or moral impacts on him. Trump tried [americanmilitarynews.com] to get the National Guard to the Capitol to protect the building, and was turned down [dailymail.co.uk] by Democrats who were afraid of the "optics" of having more security. The same people also limited [jonathanturley.org] what the Capitol Police were authorized to do to secure the Capitol.

                Democrats are to blame for other reasons as well -- they encouraged similar m

                • by Moryath ( 553296 )

                  So your sources are... a Klan-affiliated rag, and the "Daily Mail", a tabloid owned by the same Australian Neonazi who owns Fox Noise? The facts say you're full of shit. [apnews.com]

                  While Trump was involved in discussions in the days prior to Jan. 6 about whether the National Guard would be called ahead of the joint session, he issued no such order or formal request before or during the rioting, and the guard’s arrival was delayed for hours as Pentagon officials deliberated over how to proceed.

                  In a 2022 inter

                  • by Entrope ( 68843 )

                    Wow, you are really bad at critical thinking.

                    Trump indeed did not order the National Guard to occupy the Capitol. Maybe you should contemplate why that would be. (Hint: That actually would have been an attempted insurrection. See, for example, the Posse Comitatus Act.) And he similarly was not be able to formally request permission for them to occupy the Capitol; Congress would need to request that.

                    • by Moryath ( 553296 )

                      Kill yourself, you America-hating Sack of Treason Shit. Trump didn't order the National Guard to DEFEND the Capitol against a violent insurrection by the very people his treasonous, Son Of a Klan Shit ass sent there.

                      You're a fucking cowardly sack of shit America Hating Traitor, the same as him. It's a shame Sherman didn't end your fucking crossburning family when he had the chance, but you can do the honorable thing now and just fucking off yourself.

                    • by e3m4n ( 947977 )

                      Pay no attention to Moryath. That stolen valor fucker. Hes been spreading lies about being a vet but failed some simple questions that every vet knows about stoploss. Nothing lower than someone trying to cash in on other peoples sacrifices for their own glory. Fake wannabe impotent child pretending to be a vet.

                    • by e3m4n ( 947977 )

                      Pay no attention to this stolen valor fucker. Hes been spreading lies about being a vet but failed some simple questions that every vet knows about stoploss. Nothing lower than someone trying to cash in on other peoples sacrifices for their own glory. Fake wannabe child pretending to be a vet.

        • Mostly because Trump didn't like some media coverage:
          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

          And as a consequence of the assassination, Trump presided over the biggest ballistic missile attack against US forces ever. 110 service members were injured:
          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

          In response to the missile strike, we, um, added a few sanctions against Iran:
          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

      • Basically he'll let Vance run the show because he's going to frankly be tired and sleeping. It's pretty obvious that the guy has about one or two good hours a day and he spends those on a rally.

        If you don't like JD Vance you shouldn't be voting for Trump because you're not really voting for Trump You're voting for Vance and frankly Peter thiel who is Vance's backer
        • by Anonymous Coward
          His performance at rallies is during his good hours?!
      • by AvitarX ( 172628 )

        Trump is more anti Iran though.

        This isn't to say that Harris is pro Iran, but Trump is incredibly anti Iran.

      • JD Vance will be running the show with Peter Thiel behind him.

        Perhaps. But the VP has no actual power other than breaking ties in the Senate. JD will only be running things if Trump backs him. Otherwise, Trump's cabinet and advisors will ignore him.

        It's like everyone has forgotten all about Dick Cheney already.

    • by shanen ( 462549 )

      Nice FP, but no "orange albatross" meme. But that probably would have provoked more censor troll mod points... (Right now the moderation is neutralized, it seems.)

  • To allow the access to the campaigns email. Or was it an inside job by dem/us government undercover operatives. Really! lol "according to researchers and experts" in reality the public will never know what really happened.
    • We already know Iran got in through Roger Stone. They hacked him and pivoted from there.
    • You're assuming it wasn't just general incompetence of the septuagenarians at the top of the campaign. I mean they have people that were playing dirty tricks in Nixon's 1972 campaign on the staff.

      You think these clowns are immune from a sufficiently skilled phishing campaign?

      • by Entrope ( 68843 )

        What, do you think the campaign's IT staff told a spear-fishing target [apnews.com] that the fishing email was legitimate or something?

      • by tlhIngan ( 30335 )

        You're assuming it wasn't just general incompetence of the septuagenarians at the top of the campaign. I mean they have people that were playing dirty tricks in Nixon's 1972 campaign on the staff.

        You think these clowns are immune from a sufficiently skilled phishing campaign?

        Or a sufficiently pissed off IT team. Trump got his money by not paying his bills, you know. Even owes his best friend Rudy Giuliani several million in unpaid legal fees.

        Though, if the courts have their way Trump might have to pay some

  • by alvinrod ( 889928 ) on Saturday August 24, 2024 @05:37PM (#64732240)
    There were attempts to connect the assassination attempt against Trump to Iran and now this as well. While I don't doubt that Iran engages in espionage against the U.S. or their other enemies, I get the feeling someone is trying incredibly hard to justify conflict with Iran regardless of which party controls the White House now or next year. I'm sure some arms manufacturers are salivating at the very thought of it. Of course having fallen for enough Middle East misadventures in the recent past, I'm sure the American public won't get fooled again. Yeah, I don't believe that either.
    • Crooks apparently had some overseas accounts, which is suspicious. The current theory is that Iran trapped him in a honeypot. Plus where did he learn to build bombs?

    • Trying to assassinate Trump. Trump is easily manipulated. They would prefer Kamala because she's sane but if Trump gets it in office all they have to do is the same thing Russia and Saudi Arabia do and funnel a few billion dollars to his properties and everything's fine.

      The reason they don't want Trump is because he's too volatile and crazy. For example if elected Trump is probably going to allow Benjamin netanyahu to wipe out everyone in Palestine and take the land and that's going to make a mess of th
  • by Anonymous Coward
    Baloney, the Neocons are planning the next Trump assassination attempt and to put the blame on Iran.
    • by gtall ( 79522 )

      The Neocons couldn't shoot their way out of paper bag. And the kid who took a shot at the former alleged president was just a kid with a gun, regardless of your fevered hopes and dreams.

  • Issue Closed.
  • 'Invasive' Iranian Intelligence Group Believed to Be The Ones Who Breached Trump's Campaign

    Wait, they're not even sure? Amateurs! And anyways, how many groups were at it?

  • ...I guess it's clear who the Iranians want to win.

    Now ask yourself why.

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