By Pishtaz | 2024-12-16

Iranian state-affiliated threat actors are employing advanced influence operations targeting the Israeli public, leveraging tools like artificial intelligence (AI) and deepfake technology, according to multiple cybersecurity reports.

Throughout 2023 and into 2024, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has orchestrated coordinated campaigns designed to exploit and deepen social divisions in Israel, research from Microsoft and other experts revealed.

"Iran's operations were initially reactionary and opportunistic. By late October 2023, nearly all of Iran's influence and major cyber actors focused on Israel," Microsoft said in a report published in February.

Hundreds of inauthentic accounts across various social media platforms, posing as both liberal and conservative activists, have promoted protests and amplified dissent against government officials.

According to Clemson University research conducted in September, Iran-aligned actors established a coordinated inauthentic behavior network of more than 250 social media accounts.

These accounts disseminated emotionally charged content regarding proposed judicial reforms, with posts both supporting and opposing the legislation.

The Iranian regime's influence operations became even more aggressive following Hamas’s terrorist attacks on Israel in October 2023.

Operatives hacked television broadcasts in multiple countries to air fabricated segments featuring AI-generated newscasters.

These incorporated manipulated footage from the conflict and directed viewers to pro-Tehran Telegram channels promoting anti-Israel narratives.

In the first week of the Israel-Hamas war, Microsoft said it had observed "a 42% increase in Microsoft AI for Good Lab's Iranian Propaganda Index."

Intimidation tactics

Iranian actors also deployed intimidation tactics aimed directly at Israeli citizens.

Hundreds of fake accounts, appearing to impersonate Hamas, emerged across platforms like Telegram and X.

These accounts distributed Hebrew-language threats intended to undermine public trust in Israel's government and military.

One operation, identified in Microsoft's October Digital Defense Report, saw the group "Cotton Sandstorm" using the name and logo of Hamas's military wing, Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, to spread disinformation about hostages in Gaza.

It also sent threatening messages to Israelis, attempting to create fear and confusion.

The campaign expanded further to include mass emails and text messages sent to Israeli citizens, amplifying false claims of ongoing cyberattacks and warning of imminent physical attacks.

Although many recipients recognized these messages as fake, the campaign sought to sow panic and destabilize public morale.

"Iran's influence operations were most effective in the early days of the war," Microsoft said. "A month into the war, the reach of these Iranian sources remained 28 to 29% above pre-war levels globally."

The Iranian regime's influence operations are not limited to Israel.

Recent studies reveal that Tehran is employing similar disinformation strategies to target Western democracies, highlighting its broader geopolitical goal of fostering destabilization and sowing division on a global scale.