Security News > 2021 > November > US indicts Iranian hackers for Proud Boys voter intimidation emails
The U.S. Department of State is offering a $10 million reward for information about the activities of two Iranian nationals charged for cyber activity intended to "Intimidate and influence" American voters during the 2020 U.S. presidential campaign.
An indictment unsealed today by the Department of Justice alleges that between September and November 2020, 24-year old Seyyed Mohammad Hosein Musa Kazemi and 27-year old Sajjad Kashian obtained information of more than 100,000 U.S. voters and used it "Sow discord among Americans."
The two suspects tried to compromise close to a dozen state voter websites and found a misconfigured computer that gave them access to the details of voters in one state.
They used the data to distribute false information over Facebook and email about the Democratic Party planning to interfere with the election by exploiting vulnerabilities in voter registration websites and modifying mail-in ballots.
"The False Election Messages were accompanied by a video carrying the Proud Boys logo, which purported, via simulated intrusions and the use of State-1 voter data, to depict an individual hacking into state voter websites and using stolen voter information to create fraudulent absentee ballots through the Federal Voting Assistance Program for military and overseas voters" - the U.S. Department of Justice.
In October, Kazemi and Kashian sent out emails claiming to be from the Proud Boys threatening thousands of registered voters with physical injuries unless they voted for Donald Trump.
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