The US has sanctioned a Russian state-affiliated entity for a sophisticated GenAI-based disinformation operation which targeted the 2024 US Presidential election.
The Treasury department said Moscow-based Center for Geopolitical Expertise (CGE) used deepfakes and GenAI tools to sow discord and circulate disinformation about candidates in last year’s election cycle.
The CGE received direction and financial support from Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) for its campaigns, which were led by a GRU officer and CGE affiliate directed CGE Director Valery Mikhaylovich Korovin.
The GRU provided the CGE with a network of US-based facilitators who built and maintained an AI-support server and sustained a network of at least 100 websites used in its disinformation operations.
Using this infrastructure, the CGE and its personnel were able to use generative AI tools to quickly create disinformation that would be distributed across a massive network of websites designed to imitate legitimate news outlets to create false corroboration between the stories, as well as to obfuscate their Russian origin.
This set-up was also designed to avoid foreign web-hosting services that would block their activity.
The CGE also manipulated video using deepfake technology to produce baseless accusations concerning a 2024 presidential candidate in an effort to sow discord among the US electorate, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said.
The US has sanctioned CGE and Korovin for these activities, meaning any finances or assets they own in the US will be blocked and any transactions prohibited.
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Iranian Group Sanctioned for Inciting Tensions in US
The OFAC also sanctioned the Cognitive Design Production Center (CDPC), a subsidiary organization of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), for influence operations designed to incite socio-political tensions among the US electorate in the lead up to the 2024 US elections.
Iranian threat actors conducted major efforts to interfere in the 2024 Presidential Elections. In August 2024, Microsoft highlighted four influence operations by Iran-affiliated actors that aimed to amplify divisive issues within the US, like racial tensions, economic disparities and gender-related issues.
The US government also accused Iran of hacking one of Donald Trump’s Presidential campaign websites in the same month.
Commenting on the OFAC announcements, Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Bradley T. Smith, said: “The Governments of Iran and Russia have targeted our election processes and institutions and sought to divide the American people through targeted disinformation campaigns. The US will remain vigilant against adversaries who would undermine our democracy.”