Some US officials are bracing for Iran to retaliate with a cyber attack in response to the killing of one of its top commanders. But Iran has shown it's capable of engaging in another form of online warfare: social media disinformation campaigns.
Americans may associate this tactic more with Russia, but Iran has turned to this playbook too. While a conventional cyber attack could potentially shut down a hospital or compromise a power grid, disinformation campaigns have the potential to sow discord and influence the American electorate.
In one case, a pro-Iranian influence campaign even succeeded in having letters to the editor published in American newspapers at least 13 times, according to FireEye. While the letter writing campaign was not tied directly to the Iranian government, Facebook, which examined accounts and personas associated with FireEye's findings, confirmed they were operated from inside Iran.
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