US charges three Iranians with ‘hack and leak’ of Trump campaign

US authorities have charged three Iranians with hacking Donald Trump’s presidential campaign this year.

Prosecutors say Masoud Jalili, Seyyed Ali Aghamiri and Yasar Balaghi are members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who engaged in a “hack and leak” operation in a “deliberate attempt” to undermine an unnamed presidential campaign.

Last week US officials said Iranian hackers had tried to distribute stolen material from the Trump campaign to individuals linked to Joe Biden’s re-election effort.

The trio are charged with 18 counts that include wire fraud, identity theft, and material support to a designated foreign terrorist organisation, as well as hacking-related charges.