3 Iranians charged with hacking and leaking Trump’s 2024 Election Campaign material

In a high-profile cybercrime case, three Iranian nationals have been charged with hacking and leaking sensitive materials related to former President Donald Trump’s 2024 election campaign. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) unveiled the 18-count indictment on September 26, 2024, accusing the individuals of engaging in unauthorized access to campaign systems, stealing confidential documents, and releasing them publicly to disrupt the political process.

The Charges

The indictment, filed in a federal court, outlines a series of cyber intrusions by the three individuals identified in the court documents as Masoud Jalili, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri, and Yasar Balaghi. The three allegedly infiltrated the computer networks of Trump’s campaign, and stole sensitive information including internal emails, campaign strategies, and donor information.

After obtaining the data, the hackers leaked it to multiple platforms. The New York Times, and The Washington Post were both offered the stolen data, but refused to publish it. One independent journalist has, however, published some of the contents from the stolen data.

The PDF document is a 271-page opposition research file on former President Donald Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio. Incidentally, Elon Musk's Twitter has blocked links to that leak and suspended the account of the journalist.

State-sponsored actors

According to the court documents, the hackers were operating as part of a larger network of cybercriminals believed to have ties to the Iranian government. However, direct links to state actors have not yet been publicly confirmed.

Also, the FBI were at a loss when asked to confirm whether the hacker threat had been mitigated. "You can never be fully confident that you have eradicated them from an environment, and so we remain fully engaged with the victims in this case, which include presidential campaigns as well as individuals associated with those campaigns," a senior FBI official said.

The FBI sends out a warning

The DOJ’s indictment comes as part of a broader push by U.S. law enforcement to combat international cybercrime, particularly efforts aimed at interfering with American democratic institutions. FBI Director Christopher Wray emphasized the seriousness of the charges, noting that the hacking represents not only a threat to individual campaigns but to the integrity of U.S. elections as a whole.

“These defendants thought they could meddle in our democratic process and get away with it. But we’ve demonstrated that we will go to great lengths to bring cybercriminals to justice, regardless of where they operate,” Wray said during a press conference.