Microsoft says Iranian hackers targeted U.S. presidential campaigns and spread AI content insulting Donald Trump

A hacking group linked to the Iranian government tried to breach the email accounts of presidential campaign staffers as part of a wider effort to gather intelligence ahead of the US election, Microsoft Corp. said Friday.

Attackers connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in June used a compromised email address from a former political adviser to try phishing another high-ranking presidential campaign official, according to findings from Microsoft’s Threat Analysis Center. That group, which Microsoft calls Mint Sandstorm, also unsuccessfully attempted to log in to the account of a former presidential candidate. The report didn’t identify the individual targets by name.

Other Iranian groups are using artificial intelligence technology to publish content online insulting former president Donald Trump and create inflammatory posts about controversial issues such as gender reassignment surgery, according to the report.