Microsoft is accusing Iran of launching fake news sites in an effort to disrupt the upcoming 2024 US Presidential Elections, according to its latest Threat Analysis Center report.
Microsoft cybersecurity experts claimed to have tracked several Iranian government-backed groups laying the groundwork to "stir up controversy or sway voters" through various disinformation and hacking campaigns.
Researches have detected at least four state-backed campaign movements, including the launch of "covert news sites" targeted towards people at extreme political ends.
Many of the articles on these sites are suspected to be "AI-enabled" with some of the content ripped straight out of other credible US news outlets.
Another Iranian cybercrime group was also reported to have been launching email phishing campaigns, targeting high-ranking government officials to gain control of the accounts of the presidential candidates.
The group was able to infiltrate the account of an unnamed former candidate but was quickly rebuked after Microsoft notified the affected party.
How to Identify Foreign State-Backed Disinformation Campaigns?
Microsoft has already named several popular websites the Iranian groups have used to sway voters with disinformation, including Nio Thinker.
Since most content on the sites was either AI-generated or plagiarized, it is also far easier to identify false reports by putting them through AI and plagiarism text detectors.
Researchers also cautioned against believing highly sensationalized news headlines as the disinformation campaign used similar methods to elicit emotions from its readers.
Foreign State-Backed Disinformation Campaigns Surge Ahead of 2024 US Elections
This was not the first time, nor likely the last time, Microsoft has reported of foreign state-backed voter influence campaigns as the 2024 US Elections inch closer.
Microsoft-backed OpenAI earlier reported that foreign actors from Iran, Israel, China, and Russia were reportedly leveraging AI chatbots to launch disinformation campaigns aimed at Americans.
Microsoft's Threat Intelligence group also reported before how the five nations have been using chatbots, particularly OpenAI's ChatGPT, to automate cybercrimes and hacking activities.
In response, government agencies have intensified cybersecurity campaigns to protect critical infrastructures against further attacks.
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