A report says Iran may launch cyber attacks against sanctions
According to betanews, the decision of President Trump to re-impose sanctions on Iran may lead to the country launching cyber attacks against Western companies within a few months. The threat intelligence company Recorded Future released new research and analysis of cyber threats in Iran on Wednesday.
The author of the report pointed out that “Since at least 2009, Iran has regularly responded to sanctions or perceived provocations by conducting offensive cyber campaigns say the report’s authors. “The Islamic Republic has historically preferred to use proxies or front organizations both in physical conflict — Hezbollah against Israel and Yemen rebels against Saudi Arabia — and cyberattacks to achieve its policy goals.”
The report provides some insights into how Iran’s network operations work. For example, the report states that they use a hierarchical approach to management, in which an ideologically and politically trusted middle-level manager translates intelligence priorities into segmented network tasks, which are then bid by multiple contractors. This creates a system that allows contractors to confront each other.
The report also pointed out a “paranoia,” and no one can trust. This situation created a unique tradeoff in the offensive network movement approved by the Iranian government. Individuals who display a governmental ideology and those who have the most aggressive cyber skills are almost always mutually exclusive.
This trade-off between ideology and skill is a problem for the regime. The focus of trying to establish cyber capabilities is that young hackers are tempted by economic interests, but the report states that “this motive gave birth to mistrust by the government because the Islamic Republic of Iran is concerned that foreign intelligence agencies may be driven by financial incentives. In addition, many are responsible for large-scale The original Iranian hacker who undermined his behavior hated authority and lacked the discipline required for government work.”
As part of the research, the Recorded Future interviewed former Iranian hackers and had first-hand information. According to sources and other Iranian hackers, it is believed that more than 50 contractors have contended for an offensive network project funded by the Iranian government. Only the best individual or team can succeed to get paid.
