DNI Chief Warned a Day Ago
Treasury Sanctions Iranian Group Over Election Interference
Speaker Pelosi: "If Iran Is the Villain, Russia Is the Real Bad Guy"
[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Ahead of the U.S. presidential election, intelligence agencies are repeatedly warning about hacking attempts by Russia and Iran. In particular, Russia's hacking attempts are being assessed as very serious.
On the 22nd (local time), according to AP News and others, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) under the Department of Homeland Security announced that hackers linked to the Russian government have recently attempted to hack computer networks of U.S. state and local governments, as well as aviation networks.
CISA explained that the hackers breached some local government networks and stole data from two locations earlier this month. The Russian hackers identified by CISA are known as the groups 'Dragonfly' or 'Energetic Bear.' They hacked hundreds of U.S. power, oil, and gas-related facilities in 2014 and 2017, and the cyberattack on San Francisco Airport earlier this year is also attributed to them.
CISA stated, "So far, there is no evidence that the integrity of election information stored on local government networks has been compromised," but added, "The hackers are targeting their next victims." They further noted, "This is intended to influence U.S. government policies and disrupt local government agencies."
U.S. media reported that some election data is at risk. The New York Times (NYT) analyzed, "It appears to be an attempt to help President Donald Trump," and "It could exacerbate controversies when the election results are close." It cannot be ruled out that these hackers might spread fake news and foster distrust in the election results.
Iran was also involved. Iran reportedly impersonated the American far-right group 'Proud Boys' to intimidate U.S. voters, incite social unrest, and send emails harmful to President Donald Trump.
Iran's actions were revealed due to a ridiculous mistake. One media outlet, citing U.S. intelligence officials, reported that a mistake was found in a video attached to some of the messages sent by them, leading to the recognition that the threatening emails targeting U.S. voters originated from Iranian hackers.
Local media and political circles are responding that Russia's attempts are more serious than Iran's. On the same day, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters, "If Iran is the villain, Russia is the real bad guy."
The Treasury Department also took action. On the same day, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) under the Treasury Department sanctioned five Iranian entities that attempted to interfere in the U.S. presidential election. The Treasury explained that these groups tried to interfere in the U.S. election by spreading false information online. The Treasury also stated that the Iranian regime focused on sowing discord among voters by distributing false information and defamatory articles to Americans.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said, "The U.S. government will protect the U.S. election system from being compromised and will continue to respond to any efforts by foreign actors to threaten the election process."
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