Meta Takes Down Iranian Hackers on WhatsApp Targeting US Political Figures

Recently, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, the meta has recently taken down small group of accounts on WhatsApp.

These accounts were used by hackers linked to Iran, who had been posing as technical support agents for various tech companies.

These group associated with these accounts attempted phishing attacks via email, targeting individuals connected to US President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, former President Donald Trump, and other political and diplomatic officials.

Even though, Meta reported no evidence that these WhatsApp accounts were successfully compromised, the company has informed law enforcement and other tech companies of the situation.

Further as per Meta’s recent statement, these recent hacking attempts affected individuals in Israel, Palestine, Iran, the US, and the UK.

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The hackers impersonated technical support for companies like AOL, Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft in an effort to trick users into disclosing sensitive information, such as account passwords. Later, the company identified the campaign after users reported suspicious messages.

Subsequently, the company linked these hacking attempts to APT42, also called UNC788 or Mint Sandstorm- an Iranian threat actor, which is known for using basic phishing tactics to steal online credentials.

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Earlier this year, US accused Iran of trying to interfere in the US presidential elections. Later on August 19, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the FBI, and the federal cybersecurity agency CISA released a joint statement, noting that Iran sees the upcoming elections as critical to its national security interests and has ramped up efforts to influence the outcome.

(With Inputs From ANI)