Iran-backed hackers go to work after US strikes

Whereas it lacks the technical talents of China or Russia, Iran has lengthy been often called a “chaos agent” relating to utilizing cyberattacks to steal secrets and techniques, rating political factors or frighten opponents.

Cyberattacks mounted by Iran’s authorities could finish if the ceasefire holds and Tehran appears to keep away from one other confrontation with the US. However hacker teams might nonetheless retaliate on Iran’s behalf.

In some instances, these teams have ties to navy or intelligence companies. In different instances, they act solely independently. Greater than 60 such teams have been recognized by researchers on the safety agency Trustwave.

These hackers can inflict important financial and psychological blows. Following Hamas’ 7 October 2023, assault on Israel, for example, hackers penetrated an emergency alert app utilized by some Israelis and directed it to tell customers {that a} nuclear missile was incoming.

“It causes a direct psychological impression,” mentioned Ziv Mador, vice chairman of safety analysis at Trustwave’s SpiderLabs, which tracks cyberthreats.

Financial disruption, confusion and concern are all of the targets of such operations, mentioned Mador, who relies in Israel. “We noticed the identical factor in Russia-Ukraine.”

Amassing intelligence is one other purpose for hackers

Whereas Iran lacks the cyber warfare capabilities of China or Russia, it has repeatedly tried to make use of its extra modest operations to attempt to spy on overseas leaders — one thing nationwide safety specialists predict Tehran is nearly sure to attempt once more because it seeks to suss out President Donald Trump’s subsequent strikes.