Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has uncovered and thwarted a series of hacking attempts targeting US officials from both the Biden and Trump administrations on WhatsApp. The company attributes these sophisticated cyberattacks to an Iranian hacking group known as APT42, which is believed to be linked to Iran’s military intelligence.According to Meta’s security team, the hackers employed a social engineering tactic, posing as technical support representatives for well-known tech companies such as AOL, Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft. This approach was designed to trick targets into revealing sensitive information. The company described the incident as ‘a small cluster of suspicious activities on WhatsApp’ and has since blocked the accounts involved after users reported them as suspicious.While Meta has found no evidence that any targeted WhatsApp accounts were successfully compromised, the company is taking the threat seriously. The targeted individuals reportedly include government officials, diplomats, business leaders, and other public figures associated with both the current and former US administrations. The scope of the attack extended beyond the US, with targets also identified in Israel, Palestine, Iran, and the United Kingdom.This incident is part of a broader concern about foreign interference in US elections. Earlier this month, the US formally accused Iran of attempting to undermine the upcoming presidential elections. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the FBI, and the federal cybersecurity agency CISA have stated that Iran perceives this year’s elections as particularly consequential for its national security interests.Meta has shared its findings with law enforcement agencies and industry peers to strengthen defenses against such threats. The company’s swift action in detecting and blocking these attempts underscores the ongoing challenges in safeguarding digital communications, particularly in the context of high-stakes political processes.
Key points
- Meta detected and blocked hacking attempts on WhatsApp accounts of US officials from both Biden and Trump administrations.
- The attacks are attributed to APT42, an Iranian hacking group linked to military intelligence.
- Hackers posed as tech support for major companies to trick targets into revealing sensitive information.
- The incident is part of broader concerns about foreign interference in US elections.
Contradictions👾While most sources agree that no accounts were compromised, there are slight variations in how this is reported.
Some state that Meta found no evidence of compromise, while others more definitively state that no hacking attempts were successful.
