Tag Archive for: Presidential

Iranian hackers charged with cybercrimes in connection with attempts to influence 2020 US Presidential Election

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Jessica Haworth

19 November 2021 at 13:22 UTC

Updated: 19 November 2021 at 13:31 UTC

Pair were affiliated with group that tried to secure a win for Donald Trump

Iranian hackers charged with cybercrimes in connection with attempts to influence 2020 US Presidential Election

Two Iranian nationals have been charged in connection with a disinformation campaign intended to threaten the integrity of the 2020 US Presidential election.

A statement released by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) yesterday (November 18) stated that the men were charged for their involvement in “a cyber-enabled campaign to intimidate and influence American voters, and otherwise undermine voter confidence and sow discord”.

Seyyed Mohammad Hosein Musa Kazemi (سید محمد حسین موسی کاظمی), also known as Mohammad Hosein Musa Kazem and Hosein Zamani, 24, and Sajjad Kashian (سجاد کاشیان), also known as Kiarash Nabavi, 27, are described as computer hackers who worked as contractors for an Iran-based company formerly known as Eeleyanet Gostar, and now known as Emennet Pasargad.

Eeleyanet Gostar purported to provide cybersecurity services within Iran with customers including the Iranian government, the statement alleges.

Accusations

The defendants are accused of obtaining confidential US voter information from at least one state election website; sending threatening email messages to intimidate and interfere with voters; and creating and disseminating a video containing disinformation about purported election infrastructure vulnerabilities.

The pair are also accused of attempting to access several US states’ voting-related websites, and successfully gaining unauthorized access to a US media company’s computer network that could have enabled them to disseminate false claims after the election.

US attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New Yorks commented: “Working with others, Kazemi and Kashian accessed voter information from at least one state’s voter database, threatened US voters via email, and even disseminated a fictitious video that purported to depict actors fabricating overseas ballots.”

BACKGROUND Spoiling the ballot: Cyber issues cast cloud over US presidential election

The…

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2016 Presidential Campaign Hacking Fast Facts

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CNN Editorial Research

Here’s a look at hacking incidents during the 2016 presidential race between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. For details about investigations into hacking and efforts to interfere with the election, see 2016 Presidential Election Investigation Fast Facts.

Timeline

September 2015 – The FBI contacts the Democratic National Committee’s help desk, cautioning the IT department that at least one computer has been compromised by Russian hackers. A technician scans the system and does not find anything suspicious.

November 2015 – The FBI reaches out to the DNC again, warning them that one of their computers is transmitting information back to Russia. DNC management later says that IT technicians failed to pass along the message that the system had been breached.

March 19, 2016 – Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta receives a phishing email masked as an alert from Google that another user had tried to access his account. It contains a link to a page where Podesta can change his password. He shares the email with a staffer from the campaign’s help desk. The staffer replies with a typo – instead of typing “This is an illegitimate email,” the staffer types “This is a legitimate email.” Podesta follows the instructions and types a new password, allowing hackers to access his emails.

April 2016 – Hackers create a fake email account and use it to send spear-phishing emails to more than thirty Clinton staffers, according to investigators. In the emails, the hackers embed a link purporting to direct the recipient to a document titled “hillaryclinton-favorable-rating.xlsx.” The link directs the recipients’ computers to a website operated by the hackers. That same month, hackers use stolen credentials to access the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee computer network, stealing data with malware. They ultimately access 33 DNC computers and anonymously register a website called DC Leaks to publicize the release of documents.

May-June 2016 – The hackers steal thousands of emails from the DNC server and begin to conceal their efforts.

June 12, 2016 – During an interview on British…

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Kaimar Karu: Estonia deserves better from the presidential election | Opinion

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Even though the President of Estonia has no political power, the compatibility of the person’s political views with those of the party is of high importance for all five party leaders. This has increased relevance in the light of the local elections coming up later this year. The pronoun in “our president” could easily be misunderstood for that of the party, rather than the nation’s people.

Estonia’s constitution is very clear on the president’s responsibilities within our parliamentary democracy. None of these is dependent on the person’s political views, yet, the last five years have changed the public’s perception of the role, and this, in combination with fond memories of the first post-soviet president, Lennart Meri, has created an incompatible set of requirements for the next president.

The role could be unnecessary, but it is definitely needed. The person should be like our current president, but not at all like our current president. They should be apolitical, but definitely an active politician. They should unite, but definitely take sides. They should be smart, but not smarter. They should be older, but definitely young. The role belongs to a woman, but definitely not a woman etc.

It is difficult to imagine a person active in politics today, fighting for their party’s policies and against those from other parties representing roughly 80 percent of the voters, not always with the kindest of words, suddenly abandoning their raison d’être and becoming a party-agnostic, policy-agnostic promoter of common principles and decency over partisanship and one true answer to everything.

Before setting the selection criteria and definitely before speculating with any names, it would be good to think about what the country needs. What are the challenges Estonia and its people have to deal with in the coming years, considering our geopolitical position, threats and opportunities? We need to discuss how the head of state, in their international and domestic roles, can help achieve our objectives and mitigate risks. The role of the president is an active one, rather than a political trophy.

Those discussions, if happening, have gone unnoticed by the general public this time.

Again and again,…

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Uganda Security Forces Ordered To Stop Detention Of Losing Presidential Candidate : NPR

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Soldiers patrol outside presidential challenger Bobi Wine’s home in Magere, Kampala, Uganda, Jan. 16, after President Yoweri Museveni was declared the winner of the election.

Nicholas Bamulanzeki/AP


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Nicholas Bamulanzeki/AP

Soldiers patrol outside presidential challenger Bobi Wine’s home in Magere, Kampala, Uganda, Jan. 16, after President Yoweri Museveni was declared the winner of the election.

Nicholas Bamulanzeki/AP

A Uganda judge has ordered state security forces, who have kept the losing presidential candidate Bobi Wine detained in his home since mid-January, to stop surrounding Wine’s residence.

Wine, 38, a popular singer whose real name is Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, was the main opposition candidate in the Jan. 14 presidential election. President Yoweri Museveni was reelected to a sixth term, winning 58% of the vote to Wine’s 34%, according to election officials. Wine disputes the results.

Uganda Election: President Yoweri Museveni Declared Winner As Bobi Wine Alleges Fraud

The court ruled that Wine’s effective house arrest was not in accordance with the law and that if the government wants him detained it should charge him with a crime, The Associated Press reports from the Ugandan capital, Kampala.

The AP says Museveni’s government has not yet responded to the court order and it’s not clear whether it will obey the ruling. Officials surrounded Wine’s house on Election Day and said he could not leave without a military escort, because he posed a threat to public order.

Museveni, who at 76 is twice Wine’s age, has been president for 35 years. Uganda has never had a peaceful transfer of power since the former colony gained independence from Great Britain in 1962.

NPR East Africa correspondent Eyder Peralta reported from Uganda that in the lead-up to the election…

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