The US Department of Justice has charged three Iranian nationals as part of an attempt to hack into the emails and computers used by President Donald Trump’s campaign headquarters and other political contacts.
The Washington Post DOJ officials said in an indictment filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia indicting Masoud Jalili, Seyed Ali Agamiri and Yashar Balaghi. The indictment alleges that the three individuals “prepared for and participated in a large-scale hacking campaign” against current and former US officials, political campaigns and the media.
According to the indictment, the activities of Jalili, Agamiri and Balaghi are part of Iran’s ongoing efforts. […] Undermining confidence in the US electoral process.” They also face possible charges of providing financial support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
The suspects are accused of conducting a targeted hacking campaign in Iran over a four-year period. Among their victims are current and former officials of the US State Department, the Central Intelligence Agency, the US ambassador to Israel, and the Iranian human rights organization.
Last May, three hackers successfully gained access to accounts belonging to Trump campaign officials. (Biden’s attempts to disrupt his campaign staff apparently failed.) President Joe Biden campaign workers such as news agencies The Washington Post and Politics Received unsolicited emails from an AOL account belonging to “Robert” containing materials stolen from the Trump campaign. They include some internal poll results and a vetting dossier for Trump’s nominee, Sen. JD Vance.
Due to extradition laws, it is unlikely that these hackers will be brought to justice on US soil.
