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Iran launched a series of ‘wiper’ cyberattacks capable of taking down entire networks, US Homeland Security has warned.
The US Department of Homeland Security has claimed that there has been a “rise in malicious cyber activity” directed at US industries by Iranian actors and proxies.
Christopher Krebs, director of the department’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), said in a statement issued on 22 June that it would continue to work with its intelligence community and cybersecurity partners to monitor Iranian cyber activity.
“Iranian regime actors and proxies are increasingly using destructive ‘wiper’ attacks, looking to do much more than just steal data and money.
“These efforts are often enabled through common tactics like spear phishing, password spraying and credential stuffing. What might start as an account compromise, where you think you might just lose data, can quickly become a situation where you’ve lost your whole network.”
The attackers are allegedly targeting IT infrastructures of US government agencies and their private sector contractors.
Escalating aggression
Previous reports have said that the US launched cyberattacks on Iran after a US drone was shot down. The drone had, Iranian officials claim, violated Iranian airspace as it had been spotted over the Strait of Hormuz.
Multiple computer systems were targeted, according to reports, including those believed to have been used by an Iranian intelligence group to plan attacks on US oil tankers.
Tensions between the two nations continue to escalate, with the most recent development coming yesterday (24 June) when US president Donald Trump announced new, “hard-hitting” sanctions on Iran.
“The supreme leader of Iran is one who ultimately is responsible for the hostile conduct of the regime,” Trump said in a declaration to press as he signed in fresh penalties designed to prevent some top Iranian officials from using the international banking system or any financial vehicles set up by European nations or other countries. Previously, the US has sanctioned the nation by cutting off revenue from Iranian oil exports.
