Iranian hackers targeted WhatsApp accounts of Trump, Biden officials - Meta
Photo: hacker (Getty Images)
On Friday, August 23, Meta announced it had detected new potential attempts to hack WhatsApp accounts belonging to officials from the administration of US President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, according to Reuters.
In Meta's blog post described the attempts in its blog as a "small cluster of likely social engineering activity on WhatsApp." The hackers attempted to pose as technical support representatives from AOL, Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft.
The company blocked the accounts after users reported suspicious activity and found no evidence that the targeted WhatsApp accounts had been breached.
Meta attributed this activity to the hacking group APT42, which is believed to be linked to the Iranian military intelligence unit and is known for installing spyware on victims' mobile phones. According to researchers monitoring the group, the spyware allows for call recording, text message theft, and silently activating cameras and microphones.
Meta highlighted that the Iranian hacking group's activity was associated with attempts to hack US presidential campaigns ahead of the American elections. Earlier this month, Microsoft and Google also reported similar concerns.
The Meta blog did not specify the names of the individuals targeted in the attacks but indicated that the hackers "appeared to have focused on political and diplomatic officials, business and other public figures, including some associated with administrations of President Biden and former President Trump."
RBC-Ukraine previously reported that US intelligence officials had officially accused Iran of cyberattacks on the Trump, Biden, and Harris campaigns.
