Meta Predicts Iranian Hackers Targeted WhatsApp Accounts Of The Trump And Biden Administrations

Trump blamed Iranian hackers for attacking his presidential campaign on 10 August 2024, which was confirmed by Microsoft threat reports. However, now Meta predicts that the WhatsApp accounts of both the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates have been supposedly hacked by the same Iranian hackers.

On Friday, Meta said that it is tracking the network of hackers who went after the Trump and Biden administrations. The company predicts the hackers could be tech support agents for AOL, Microsoft, Google and Yahoo who are receiving questionable messages on WhatsApp.  

Meta is quite sure that the hacking activity could be linked to the same Iranian hackers who attacked Trump’s campaign earlier this month. The firm discovered a “malicious activity” on the WhatsApp messaging service regarding the presidential campaigns.

“Our investigation linked this activity to APT42, an Iranian threat actor known for its phishing campaign across the internet targeting political and diplomatic officials, and other public figures”, said Meta, the tech giant.

FBI confirms Meta’s reports about Iranian hackers

The FBI corroborates Meta’s reports by saying that Biden-Harris campaigns are targeted by the same Iranian network for interfering with the US presidential campaign.

A statement released from Meta on Friday also detailed that Facebook and Instagram accounts were on the verge of being hacked along with sending of suspicious messages on WhatsApp. The WhatsApp accounts belong to individuals from the Middle East, the United States and the United Kingdom along with accounts of prominent political figures who are associated with the Trump and Biden administrations.

Meta assured that a “small cluster of accounts” was blocked. Besides, Meta added, “We have not seen evidence of the targeted Whatsapp accounts being compromised but out of an abundance of caution, we’re sharing findings publicly.”

The company also informed that the same information is shared with law enforcement authorities and industry peers for detailed investigation and review.

Earlier this month, when Trump said that Iran has been trying to harm his personal email account with its hackers, Google’s threat intelligence launched their investigation. It was again suspected that the email accounts of several people linked to the Trump and Biden administrations experienced hacking difficulties as a cyber-intrusion into the presidential elections.

US Intelligence predicts that the chief motive of Iranian hackers behind the cyber-attacks could be diverting voters, confusing them to undermine the US democracy and wear down support for Israel. Another possibility for the attacks could be creating intense tension between Washington and Iran amidst one of the major events of US politics.

The predictions grew strong against Iran as the country vowed to bring Trump down who ended a nuclear deal with Iran. Iran says Trump is responsible for sanctioning the killing of their leader Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

Avril Haines, the Director of National Intelligence, indicated that Iran’s government supported the American protests showing great condemnation for Israel and their attacks on Palestine. Also, Iran’s support was seen for Palestinians and the end of the war against Hamas in Gaza.

Online Iranian groups were active on social activist groups for these two global issues, encouraged campus protests and also gave financial assistance to such protest groups where needed.