Facebook Inc on Thursday said that it dismantled three networks of fake accounts that could be used by Russia’s intelligence services to leak hacked documents as part of efforts to disrupt the upcoming US presidential election.
The company said that the accounts, which it suspended for using fake identities and other types of “coordinated inauthentic behavior,” were linked to Russian intelligence and people associated with a St Petersburg-based organization accused by US officials of working to sway the 2016 US presidential vote.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Moscow has repeatedly denied allegations of election meddling, saying that it does not interfere in the domestic politics of other countries.
Facebook Cybersecurity Policy head Nathaniel Gleicher said that there was no immediate evidence that hacked documents were about to be leaked, but by suspending the accounts, Facebook hoped to prevent them from being used in any subsequent operation.
“Our team watches for the threats and trends that we need to be ready for and one that we are very aware of ... is a hack-and-leak operation, particularly in the next six to eight weeks,” he said. “We want to make sure that the accounts are down to prevent their ability to pivot them to facilitate a hack-and-leak around the US election.”
Facebook said that the networks were small with only a handful of accounts on its Web site and photo-sharing service Instagram, and a combined total of about 97,000 followers.
Twitter said that it worked with Facebook to identify and remove 350 accounts that were operated by state-linked organizations in Russia.
The companies said that one of the networks was identified following a tip from the FBI, which on Tuesday said that foreign actors and cybercriminals are likely to spread disinformation about the results of the Nov. 3 presidential election.
Graham Brookie, director of the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab, worked with Facebook to analyze the suspended accounts.
“Russia’s efforts remain an extremely serious national security vulnerability,” Brookie said.
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