US uncovers 2020 poll ‘e-mail’ plot
Says Iran, Russia interfering
WASHINGTON (AP) – US officials have accused Iran of being behind a flurry of e- mails sent to Democratic voters in multiple battleground states that appeared to be aimed at intimidating them into voting for US President Donald Trump.
The officials did not lay out specific evidence for how they came to pinpoint Iran, but the activities attributed to Tehran would mark a significant escalation for a country some cybersecurity experts regard as a second-rate player in online espionage. The Wednesday announcement was made at a hastily called news conference 13 days before the election.
The allegations underscored the US government’s concern about efforts by foreign countries to influence the election by spreading false information meant to suppress voter turnout and undermine American confidence in the vote.
Such direct attempts to sway public opinion are more commonly associated with Moscow, which conducted a covert social media campaign in 2016 aimed at sowing discord and is again interfering this year, but the idea that Iran could be responsible suggested that those tactics have been adopted by other nations, too.
“These actions are desperate attempts by desperate adversaries,’’ said John Ratcliffe, the government’s top intelligence official, who, along with FBI Director Chris Wray, insisted the US would impose costs on any foreign countries that interfere in the 2020 US election and that the integrity of the election is still sound.
“You should be confident that your vote counts,” Wray said. “Early, unverified claims to the contrary should be viewed with a healthy dose of skepticism.”
The two officials called out both Russia and Iran for having obtained voter registration information, though such data is sometimes easily accessible and there was no allegation either country had hacked a database for it.
Iran used the information to push out spoofed e-mails, officials said, and also created a video that Ratcliffe said falsely suggested that voters could cast fraudulent ballots from overseas.
Wray and Ratcliffe did not describe the e-mails linked to Iran, but officials familiar with the matter said the US has linked Tehran to messages sent to Democratic voters in at least four states, including battleground locations like Pennsylvania, Florida and Arizona.
The e-mails falsely purported to be from the far-right group Proud Boys and warned that “we will come after you’’ if the recipients didn’t vote for Trump.
Though Democratic voters were targeted, Ratcliffe said the spoofed e-mails were intended to hurt Trump, though he did not elaborate on how. It would not be the first time that the Trump administration has said Tehran is working against the president.