Meta Blocks Iranian Hacking Scheme on WhatsApp
Meta announced Friday it had intercepted a "small cluster" of WhatsApp accounts tied to an Iranian hacking group targeting officials from both the Biden and Trump administrations. In a detailed blog post, Meta revealed that these fake accounts traced back to APT42, an Iranian state-sponsored cyber espionage actor previously identified by tech giants like Google.
APT42 has a history of targeting activists, NGOs, media, and other entities. Meta reported that the group’s latest effort aimed to exploit political, diplomatic officials, and public figures connected to the current and former U.S. administrations. The campaign also extended its reach to individuals in Israel, Palestine, Iran, and the U.K.
With the November elections approaching, Meta has come under intense scrutiny for past vulnerabilities in presidential campaigns. Despite the new threat, Meta assured the public that no WhatsApp user accounts were compromised. The company is collaborating closely with law enforcement and industry peers to address the issue.
Meta’s security team identified APT42 after analyzing suspicious messages reported by users. These fraudulent accounts posed as technical support for major tech companies like AOL, Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft. The Trump campaign recently reported a network breach by foreign actors, which Microsoft attributed to several Iranian hacking groups aiming to influence the U.S. presidential election. One such group, linked to APT42, sent a spear-phishing email to a high-ranking campaign official using a compromised account.
This isn’t the first instance of Iranian hackers targeting U.S. political campaigns. In 2019, Microsoft noted similar tactics by Iranian government-linked hackers against an unspecified U.S. presidential campaign, government officials, and media outlets.
As election day nears, Meta’s proactive measures and vigilance remain critical in safeguarding digital platforms from cyber threats.
Original Story https://www.cnbc.com/2024/08/23/meta-says-whatsapp-accounts-tied-to-iran-hackers-targeted-biden-trump.html
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