Security News > 2020 > October > U.S. Seizes Domain Names Used by Iran for Disinformation
The United States this week announced that it seized a total of 92 domain names that an Iran-linked adversary was leveraging in a global disinformation campaign.
The manner in which these domains were being used was in violation of sanctions the U.S. imposed on both the government of Iran and the IRGC. As of April 2019, the United States has designated the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization.
On October 7, pursuant to a seizure warrant, the United States seized 92 domain names that were being operated in violation of federal law.
"The four domains purported to be independent news outlets, but were actually operated by or on behalf of the IRGC to target the United States with pro-Iranian propaganda in an attempt to influence the American people to change United States foreign and domestic policy toward Iran and the Middle East," the U.S. Department of Justice says.
All of the domains were found to be owned and operated by companies in the U.S., but the government of Iran and the IRGC used them without a license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control.