Iranian hackers target WhatsApp accounts of people associated with Biden and Trump administrations, Meta says

(CNN) – A group of Iranian hackers attacked the WhatsApp accounts of people associated with the governments of President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, Meta announced on Friday.

“This malicious activity originated in Iran and attempted to target individuals in Israel, the Palestinian territories, Iran, the United States, and the United Kingdom,” the social media giant said in a statement, noting that the targeting was primarily “political and diplomatic officials, and other public figures, including some associated with the administrations of President Biden and former President Trump.”

This new report from Meta adds to the growing list of attempts by Iran-backed hackers to influence the 2024 US presidential election.

Last week, Google said an alleged Iranian hacking operation targeting U.S. presidential campaigns is ongoing and wide-ranging, after the platform announced failed attempts by hackers to log into the email accounts of people associated with Biden, Trump, Vice President Kamala Harris and the Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns.

On Monday, U.S. intelligence agencies officially linked Iran to a hacking and data breach targeting the Trump campaign, after hackers used access to the email account of Trump agent Roger Stone to try to break into the account of another campaign official.

The FBI cited Monday's statement when asked about Iran's latest alleged hacking attempts.

The intelligence community “is confident that the Iranians, through social engineering and other efforts, have sought to gain access to individuals with direct access to the presidential campaigns of both political parties,” the FBI and other agencies said in the joint statement Monday.

Meta said its investigation linked the efforts to a group called “APT42,” which is known for using phishing tactics to steal credentials from people’s online accounts.

Meta's security team blocked a group of accounts posing as support agents from several technology companies, an activity linked to APT42.

“We have not seen evidence that the targeted WhatsApp accounts have been compromised, but out of an abundance of caution, we are sharing what we discovered publicly, in addition to sharing information with law enforcement and our industry peers,” the technology company said.

CNN has reached out to the White House and the Trump campaign for comment.