(TheLibertyRevolution.com)- Newsweek reports that the Iranian government has been linked to teams of hackers who have targeted a “broad range of victims in the United States” in recent years using ransomware and other hacking tactics.
British, American, and Australian officials offered an insight into the revelation on Wednesday in a new advisory, explaining how Iran has taken advantage of lapses in security uncovered by hackers before they are fixed. Iran has reportedly targeted health care, public health, and transportation organization and government entities.
Iran has even reportedly deployed ransomware itself, with hackers using data exfiltration and extortion plots to target Americans and Westerners.
Microsoft, one of the biggest software companies in the world, also confirmed the news in a blog post published on Tuesday. According to the Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center, a “gradual evolution of the tools, techniques, and procedure employed by malicious network operators based in Iran” has been monitored by their in-house team over the last 12 months.
Microsoft said that six different groups, all based in Iran, have been identified since 2020. Out of those six groups, one regularly uses fake conference invitations and interview requests to target users. Some involved in the hacking operations have used fake identities, pretending to be officials from think tanks in Washington, D.C., to build up a rapport with their targets before exploiting them.
This isn’t just random hacking – this goes deep.
Once these hackers successfully build a relationship with their targets, they then use spear-phishing campaigns to steal data.
With cyberhacking becoming increasingly common, President Joe Biden will need to rally the world’s most talented experts to solve this crisis before it totally undermines American national security.
