Editor-DN
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Tuesday imposed sanctions against two entities from Iran and Russia for attempting to interfere in the November 2024 presidential election.
The federal agency said the agencies — a subsidiary of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and affiliated with Russia’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) in Moscow — tried to influence the election results and divide the American public through a targeted disinformation campaign. tried
“As affiliates of the IRGC and GRU, these actors aimed to incite socio-political tensions and influence American voters during the 2024 US elections.” noted in a press release.
In August 2024, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cyber Security and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Joint charge Iran continues to seek to undermine the democratic process, including through cyber operations designed to gain access to sensitive election-related information.
At the same time, Meta revealed that it had blocked WhatsApp accounts used by Iranian threat actors to target individuals in Israel, Palestine, Iran, the UK and the US. Adorable kittens.
A month later, US federal prosecutors Unsealed criminal charges Against three Iranian nationals allegedly employed by the IRGC targeting current and former government officials to extract sensitive data.
Along with that, the Treasury Department also sanctioned seven individuals for interfering in the 2020 and 2024 political campaigns, as well as spearheading, hacking and leaking operations.
The latest Iranian entity to fall under US sanctions is the Cognitive Design Production Center (CDPC), a subsidiary of the IRGC that is said to be planning to fuel socio-political tensions leading up to the 2024 elections. Actions of influence are planned.
Also sanctioned by OFAC is a Moscow-based organization called the Center for Geopolitical Experts (CGE), which works directly with the GRU unit that investigates sabotage, political interference operations, and cyber warfare. is responsible for whose purpose is the West.
It was founded in late December 2000 as a non-profit. Alexander DuginIt was previously banned by the US in March 2015 for “engaging in actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, stability, or sovereignty or territorial integrity of Ukraine”.
CGE, according to the Treasury Department, “directs and subsidizes the creation and publication of deepfakes and circulated disinformation,” using artificial intelligence (AI) tools to create mass-produced material and fake it. Distributes to websites masquerading as legitimate news outlets.
“CGE created a server that hosts creative AI tools and related AI-generated content, to avoid foreign web hosting services that block their activity,” the agency said. .
“The GRU has provided financial support to CGE and a network of US-based facilitators: building and maintaining its AI-support server; at least 100 websites used in its disinformation operations; maintaining the network; and contributing to the cost of the apartment where the server is housed.”
Valery Mikhailovich Korovin, a GRU officer, is accused of conducting covert influence operations aimed at targeting US elections from at least 2024, with the GRU funding its employees and US-based facilitators. Help provided.
“Government of the Russian Federation Employs one Array of toolsThe Treasury said, including covert foreign malicious influence campaigns and illegal cyber activities, to globally target the United States and its could harm the national security and foreign policy interests of its allies and partners.
“The Kremlin has. Quickly Adaptable Attempts to hide their involvement by creating a vast ecosystem of Russian proxy websites, fake online personas, and front organizations that give the false appearance of being independent news sources unaffiliated with the Russian state.”
