3 Iranians indicted for Trump campaign hacking, other offenses

Sept. 28 (UPI) -- Three Iranian nationals and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members on Friday were indicted for allegedly hacking the electronic accounts of Trump campaign aides and others.

Masoud Jalili, 36; Seyyed Ali Aghamiri, 34; and Yaser Balaghi, 37, conspired to hack into accounts of current and former U.S. officials, media members, non-governmental organizations and individuals affiliated with U.S. political campaigns, the Department of Justice announced Friday.

The three accused defendants conspired to hire computer hackers to use spearfishing and social engineering techniques to "stoke discord, erode confidence in the U.S. electoral process and obtain information relating to current and former U.S. officials," according to the 37-page indictment filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

"The American people, not a foreign power, decide the outcome of our country's elections," Attorney General Merrick Garland told media.

Garland said Iran, Russia and China are trying to influence the Nov. 5 election at the federal, state and local levels.

The defendants also allegedly sought to acquire information "used to advance the malign activities of the IRGC, including ongoing efforts to avenge the death of Qasem Soleimani, the former commander of the IRGC-Qods Force," federal prosecutors say in the indictment.

The DOJ says the three defendants managed to gain access to former President Donald Trump 's political campaign and stole private documents and emails that they leaked to media and individuals associated with President Joe Biden 's election campaign.

The hackers impersonated known people and organizations to trick recipients into thinking they were communicating with trusted or known people and entities.

The recipients would click a link or open an attachment that downloaded malware or navigated to a malicious website that would compromise the respective computers and accounts of those targeted individuals.

The hackers also would send additional emails from the hacked computers and accounts to target additional individuals to steal more data, the DOJ said.

Defendant Jalili has been a "skilled computer hacking operator" at least since 2012. Aghamiri and Balaghi also are "skilled computer hacking" operators, DOJ said.

The trio worked with others in Iran to engage in the hacking attacks in the United States.

They are charged with conspiracy to commit identity theft, aggravated identity theft, access device fraud, unauthorized access to computers to obtain information from a protected computer, unauthorized access to computers to defraud and obtain a thing of value, and wire fraud.

They also are charged with conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

The charges each carry maximum penalties ranging from two years to 27 years in prison.

The three defendants are not in custody or the United States. The Department of State approved a reward of up to $10 million for their arrest.