Iranian Ransomware Programs Take Cybersecurity Experts by Surprise

Ransomware encrypts files on a victim’s computer. The perpetrator then demands ransom payments in exchange for decrypting the files and sometimes also threatens to leak the victim’s data. (Reuters)
Ransomware encrypts files on a victim’s computer. The perpetrator then demands ransom payments in exchange for decrypting the files and sometimes also threatens to leak the victim’s data. (Reuters)
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Iranian Ransomware Programs Take Cybersecurity Experts by Surprise

Ransomware encrypts files on a victim’s computer. The perpetrator then demands ransom payments in exchange for decrypting the files and sometimes also threatens to leak the victim’s data. (Reuters)
Ransomware encrypts files on a victim’s computer. The perpetrator then demands ransom payments in exchange for decrypting the files and sometimes also threatens to leak the victim’s data. (Reuters)

Iranian hackers have recently launched cyberattacks against vital institutions and facilities in the United States, raising the concern of law enforcement authorities in the country.

These attacks are added to various others launched by several parties against the US.

With much attention this year on Russian ransomware attacks against the US, the Iranian threat may come as a surprise, said a report by the Foreign Policy magazine, adding that Iranian ransomware groups were quietly emerging as a global force to be reckoned with elsewhere in the world.

On November, the US, Britain and Australia issued a joint warning that Iranian actors have conducted ransomware attacks against US targets and gained access to a wide range of critical infrastructure networks, including the children’s hospital, that would enable more attacks, the report read.

Experts in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Australian Cyber Security Center (ACSC) and the United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) found out that an ongoing malicious cyber activity by an advanced persistent threat (APT) group is associated with the government of Iran.

Ransomware encrypts files on a victim’s computer. The perpetrator then demands ransom payments in exchange for decrypting the files and sometimes also threatens to leak the victim’s data.

“The Iranian government-sponsored APT actors are actively targeting a broad range of victims across multiple US critical infrastructure sectors,” the experts warned.

While Iranian ransomware may be relatively unfamiliar to Americans, it has been a part of everyday life in Israel for more than a year, the US magazine noted.

“Iranian actors have targeted almost every sector of Israel’s economy and society.”

The report pointed out that Iran’s successful use of ransomware against Israel has likely emboldened it to expand its focus to the United States.

In September 2020, an Israeli cybersecurity firm first detected Iranian ransomware activity against unspecified “prominent Israeli organizations.”

Another hacking group, Black Shadow, believed to be linked to Iran, was accused of carrying out a major cyberattack in October targeting an Internet service provider in Israel.

The report warned that Iran’s ransomware campaign appears to be on the brink of global expansion.

In 2019, a report prepared by researchers at the US giant Microsoft Corporation said that Iranian hackers are working to infiltrate systems, companies and governments around the world, causing damages amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars.

Some believe these attacks may be part of Iran’s attempts not only to influence cybersecurity and its open conflict with its “rivals” but also to obtain foreign cash, especially the US dollar, to break the blockade imposed on it.



Russia Says Plan to Boost Role in Africa Includes 'Sensitive' Security Ties

The Russian flag waving in front of the Kremlin in Moscow, July 1, 2018. (AFP / Yuri Kadobnov)
The Russian flag waving in front of the Kremlin in Moscow, July 1, 2018. (AFP / Yuri Kadobnov)
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Russia Says Plan to Boost Role in Africa Includes 'Sensitive' Security Ties

The Russian flag waving in front of the Kremlin in Moscow, July 1, 2018. (AFP / Yuri Kadobnov)
The Russian flag waving in front of the Kremlin in Moscow, July 1, 2018. (AFP / Yuri Kadobnov)

Russia plans to step up cooperation with African countries, including in "sensitive areas" such as defense and security, the Kremlin said on Monday.

Russian mercenary group Wagner said last week it was leaving Mali after helping the military junta there in its fight with militants. But the Africa Corps, a Kremlin-controlled paramilitary force, said it would remain in the west African country, Reuters said.

Asked what this meant for Russia's role in Africa, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "The Russian presence in Africa is growing. We really intend to comprehensively develop our interaction with African countries, focusing primarily on economic and investment interaction.

"This also corresponds to and extends to such sensitive areas as defense and security. In this regard, Russia will also continue interaction and cooperation with African states."

Russia's growing security role in parts of the continent, including in countries such as Mali, Central African Republic and Equatorial Guinea, is viewed with concern by the West, and has come at the expense of France and the United States.

Russia's Africa Corps was created with the Russian Defense Ministry's support after Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin and commander Dmitry Utkin led a failed mutiny against the Russian army leadership in June 2023 and were killed two months later in a plane crash.

About 70-80% of the Africa Corps is made up of former Wagner members, according to several Telegram chats used by Russian mercenaries seen by Reuters.