FBI accuses Iran of threatening US election officials



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Officials said people associated with the Iranian regime operated several post-election websites, including one titled “enemies of the people,” which contained personal information and photos of government and private sector officials involved in running the elections. American 2020.

Among those targeted online was Christopher Krebs, the former head of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency, a person familiar with the FBI investigation told CNN.

Krebs made the news following the 2020 election by publicly denying false claims by President Donald Trump and other Republican officials that there was massive voter fraud associated with the election. After checking out Trump’s conspiracy theories, Krebs was fired from his post in the Department of Homeland Security.

The online targeting of Krebs by Iranian cyberactors was first reported by The Washington Post, which also identified FBI Director Christopher Wray as one of the US government officials targeted online.

An FBI spokesperson declined to comment on the identity of the US election officials threatened by Iran.

In its statement on Wednesday, publicly appealing to the Iranian regime, the FBI said: “The post-election creation of the Enemies of the People website demonstrates Iran’s continuing intention to create divisions and mistrust in the United States and to undermine public confidence in US electoral process. “

Wednesday’s announcement was not the first time the U.S. government has blamed Iran for nefarious activity related to the 2020 election.

As CNN previously reported, at a press conference at FBI headquarters in October, Wray and Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe announced that Iran and Russia had obtained information about the listing. American voters in order to interfere in the election. The Iranian regime has been accused of impersonating the far-right group Proud Boys to send intimidating emails to voters.
In a cybersecurity bulletin sent to government agencies and private industry after the October press conference, the FBI and DHS accused Iran of creating “fictitious media sites and site spoofing. legitimate media to disseminate obtained US voter registration data, anti-American propaganda and misinformation on voter suppression, voter fraud and voter fraud. “

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