A cyber group with direct links to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has launched a coordinated campaign targeting swing states ahead of the upcoming US presidential election.

A joint report by cybersecurity researcher Nariman Gharib and whistleblower group Lab Dookhtegan shows that “Emennet Pasargad,”a cyber unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), is executing a campaign to “disrupt the voter registration process, contaminate voting systems, spread rumors, create chaos, and ultimately damage the infrastructure of US elections.”

Last month, the Treasury Department expanded its sanctions against Emennet Pasargad, adding seven individuals connected to election interference efforts in both 2020 and the current election cycle. The State Department continues to offer a $10 million reward for information about the cyber group’s malicious activities.

A report from Microsoft’s Threat Analysis Center warns that Iran may leverage previously established cyber intrusions to conduct influence campaigns in the immediate lead-up to and aftermath of the election. Intelligence gathered since early 2024 shows Iranian hackers making direct contact with US Senate candidates in the leadup to November 5.

According to Israel’s National Cyber Directorate, Iranian hacker groups like “Homeland Justice” have been working in tandem with established Iranian standouts like “Imperial Kitten” to serve as digital cover for the regime’s notorious Revolutionary Guard Corps. In the United States, their operations have already triggered federal sanctions against Iranian-backed “activists” and financial proxies for attempting to hack sensitive government facilities.

However, nowhere has Iran’s rapidly intensifying cyber aggression been felt more acutely than in Israel itself. Iranian cyber terrorists allegedly attempted to sabotage operations at Ziv Medical Center in Safed at the height of Hamas’ October 7 massacre against Israel.”