The FBI has warned US businesses of a large scale, covert threat campaign launched from inside Iran and aimed at critical infrastructure organizations, according to Reuters.
The news wire claimed that the ‘Flash’ report, which it saw a copy of on Friday, contains details on technical aspects of the malware used in the attacks and advice on how best to fortify defenses against them.
It says the attackers usually use IP addresses inside Iran to launch the malware, although apparently falls short of blaming state involvement.
The Feds’ report echoes that of threat intelligence firm Cylance, which earlier this month claimed “Iran is the new China” in a report detailing a major info-stealing APT campaign directed at 16 countries.
In that report the firm asserts that the attacks are indeed being carried out with Tehran’s blessing.
It says:
“With minimal separation between private companies and the Iranian government, their modus operandi seems clear: blur the line between legitimate engineering companies and state-sponsored cyber hacking teams to establish a foothold in the world’s critical infrastructure.”
This so-called ‘Operation Cleaver’ was responsible for hacking US Navy computers in 2013 and is supplemented by “auxiliary members” in the Netherlands, Canada, the UK and elsewhere.
Cylance chief executive, Stuart McClure, told Reuters that the fact the FBI is now warning US firms could mean the threat is even greater than at first thought.
"It underscores Iran's determination and fixation on large-scale compromise of critical infrastructure," he added.
While it may not be quite as prolific as China yet, there’s no doubt that Iran is increasingly flexing its muscles on the global stage when it comes to cyber attacks.
Last week, Bloomberg reported that the Sands casino group had been hit by a crippling, destructive malware attack in February.
It’s claimed the attack was launched by Iran in response to outspoken conservative owner Sheldon Adelson’s remarks that Tehran should be nuked if it doesn’t give up its nuclear weapons program.