U.S. Reward for Information on Election Hacking

On February 1, the State Department offered a $10 million reward for information on two Iranian men who attempted to interfere with the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Seyyed Mohammad Hosein Musa Kazemi and Sajjad Kashian worked for Iranian cyber company Emennet Pasargad.

RWJ

The United Sanctions had sanctioned the two men and the company in November 2021.

The Department of Justice also charged Kazemi and Kashian with:

  • one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud and abuse
  • one count of voter intimidation
  • one count of transmission of interstate threats

Kazemi was also charged with one count of unauthorized computer intrusion and one count of computer fraud. The following is the announcement from the State Department on the reward followed by profiles of the two men.

 

Reward Offer for Information on Iranian Cyber Actors’ Interference with 2020 U.S. Presidential Election

The U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program, which is administered by the Diplomatic Security Service, is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information on any person who, while acting at the direction of or under the control of a foreign government, interferes with U.S. elections by violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA).

The Department seeks information on Iranian cyber actors Seyyed Mohammad Hosein Musa Kazemi and Sajjad Kashian – contractors employed by Iranian cyber company Emennet Pasargad – who participated in an Iranian state-sponsored, multi-phased online operation that attempted to interfere with the 2020 U.S. presidential election. This malicious cyber operation ran from at least August through November 2020 and sought to sow discord and undermine voters’ faith in the U.S. electoral process. In November 2021, these individuals and their employer, Emennet Pasargad, were designated under Executive Order 13848 for their role in attempting to influence the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

Kazemi helped to carry out the voter intimidation and influence campaign by compromising servers, which were used to send the threatening voter emails, preparing emails for the voter threat email campaign, and compromising the email accounts of an American media company.

Kashian managed computer network infrastructure used to conduct the voter intimidation and influence campaign and sought to purchase social media accounts in furtherance of the voter intimidation and influence campaign.

Both individuals face sanctions and federal criminal charges in connection with their activities.

More information about this reward offer is located on the Rewards for Justice website at https://rewardsforjustice.net/english/election_interference.html . We encourage anyone with information on Kashian and Kazemi to contact the Rewards for Justice office via our Tor-based tips-reporting channel at: he5dybnt7sr6cm32xt77pazmtm65flqy6irivtflruqfc5ep7eiodiad.onion (Tor browser required).

 

Profile: Sajjad Kashian

Sajjad Kashian is an employee of Iranian cyber company Emennet Pasargad, which provides cyber capabilities and support to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, as well as to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the IRGC-Qods Force – both of which are U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

From at least September through November 2020, Emennet staff participated in an Iranian state-sponsored, multi-phased online operation targeting the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

Among other things, Kashian managed computer network infrastructure used to carry out the voter intimidation and influence campaign and sought to purchase social media accounts in furtherance of the voter intimidation and influence campaign.

 

Profile: Seyyed Mohammad Hosein Musa Kazemi

Seyyed Mohammad Hosein Musa Kazemi is a hacker and employee of Iranian cyber company Emennet Pasargad, which provides cyber capabilities and support to Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, as well as to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the IRGC-Qods Force – both of which are U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations.

From at least September through November 2020, Emennet staff participated in an Iranian state-sponsored, multi-phased online operation targeting the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

Kazemi helped to carry out the voter intimidation and influence campaign by compromising servers used to send the threatening voter emails, preparing emails for the voter threat email campaign, and compromising the email accounts of an American media company.