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Australia Warns of Malicious Websites after Cyber Outage

20 July 2024, Australia, Melbourne: People are seen waiting in the International departures terminal at Melbourne Airport. Photo: James Ross/AAP/dpa
20 July 2024, Australia, Melbourne: People are seen waiting in the International departures terminal at Melbourne Airport. Photo: James Ross/AAP/dpa
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Australia Warns of Malicious Websites after Cyber Outage

20 July 2024, Australia, Melbourne: People are seen waiting in the International departures terminal at Melbourne Airport. Photo: James Ross/AAP/dpa
20 July 2024, Australia, Melbourne: People are seen waiting in the International departures terminal at Melbourne Airport. Photo: James Ross/AAP/dpa

Australia's cyber intelligence agency said on Saturday that "malicious websites and unofficial code" were being released online claiming to aid recovery from Friday's global digital outage, which hit media, retailers, banks and airlines.
Australia was one of many countries affected by the outage that caused havoc worldwide after a botched software update from CrowdStrike.
On Saturday, the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) - the country's cyber intelligence agency - said "a number of malicious websites and unofficial code are being released claiming to help entities recover from the widespread outages caused by the CrowdStrike technical incident".
On its website, the agency said its cyber security center "strongly encourages all consumers to source their technical information and updates from official CrowdStrike sources only".
According to Reuters, Cyber Security Minister Clare O'Neil said on social media platform X on Saturday that Australians should "be on the lookout for possible scams and phishing attempts".
Friday's outage hit Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the country's largest bank, which said some customers were unable to transfer money. National airline Qantas and Sydney airport said planes were delayed but still flying.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said late on Friday that there had been no impact to critical infrastructure, government services or emergency phone systems.
CrowdStrike - which previously reached a market cap of about $83 billion - is a major cybersecurity provider, with close to 30,000 subscribers globally.

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Iran: We Cooperate with IAEA within Framework of Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, and head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Agency, Mohammad Eslami, in Isfahan, May 2024 (AFP)
Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, and head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Agency, Mohammad Eslami, in Isfahan, May 2024 (AFP)
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Iran: We Cooperate with IAEA within Framework of Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, and head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Agency, Mohammad Eslami, in Isfahan, May 2024 (AFP)
Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, and head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Agency, Mohammad Eslami, in Isfahan, May 2024 (AFP)

The head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI), Mohammad Eslami, said that Iran is cooperating with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) within the framework of the safeguards agreement and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, speaking of a “partial solution” to the outstanding issues with the UN agency.

Ebrahim RezaeI, the spokesperson for the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of Iranian parliament, quoted Eslami as saying that the Strategic Action Plan to Lift Sanctions, which was passed by the 11th Parliament, has “empowered the AEOI to advance with greater momentum.”

The IAEA Board of Governors, which consists of 35 countries, issued a resolution last week calling on Iran to strengthen cooperation with the agency and to reverse the ban it recently imposed on the entry of inspectors. Iran quickly responded by fixing additional centrifuges to enrich uranium at the Fordow site, and began installing others, according to the UN international agency.

Meanwhile, the White House said that Iran should not have any doubt about America’s position regarding the development of its nuclear program. American and Israeli officials also told the Axios news website that Washington issued a secret warning to Iran last month regarding its fears of Iranian research and development activities that might be used to produce nuclear weapons.

Iran has been enriching uranium to 60 percent, close to the 90 percent used in nuclear weapons, since the first months of US President Joe Biden’s administration.

Reviving the 2015 nuclear agreement was one of Biden’s most prominent foreign policy promises. However, the negotiations with Iran faltered several times and reached a dead end, after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war in February 2022, and Iran’s isolation following the security campaign to suppress popular protests in September of the same year.

On Wednesday, Axios reported that the United States and Israel have monitored suspicious nuclear activities in Iran in recent months. Officials fear that those may be part of an Iranian effort to exploit the US presidential election period to make progress towards nuclear weaponization.

US officials said that the Biden administration conveyed its nuclear concerns to the Iranians several weeks ago through third countries and direct channels. They added that the Iranians responded with explanations for these nuclear activities, stressing that there had been no change in policy, and that they were not working on a nuclear weapon.