Report: Iranian Gov't May Be Behind Global Cyberattack Campaign

A new report from a U.S. security firm says the Iranian government may be behind a global cyberattack that targeted countries including the United States, China, England, France, Canada, Germany, India and Israel.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during a meeting in Tehran, March 16, 2014. (AFP/Getty Images)

The security firm Cyclance said that since 2012, Iranian computer hackers targeted government, military, oil, gas, transportation, telecommunications and hospital networks, among others. Kuwait, Mexico, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates were also among the countries affected, the report said.

Unlike other cybersecurity threats the world has faced before, these are thought to be different: Cyclance believes that it's not just some lone hacker group compromising online security — it could very well involve the Iranian government itself.

Multiple Internet domains that were used throughout the course of the campaign were registered in Iran, and the cyberattack infrastructure is hosted through Netafraz.com, an Iranian web server provider.

Cylance suggested that the cybercampaign was "sponsored by Iran" because the infrastructure utilized was "too significant" to be a lone individual or a small group.

"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," the Cylance report states.

Iran, now engaged in nuclear disarmament talks with the U.S. and other Western countries, denied having anything to do with the attacks.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrives at Geneva International airport in Geneva, Switzerland, Nov.23, 2013 for Iran nuclear talks. (AP Photo/Denis Balibouse Pool)

"This is a baseless and unfounded allegation fabricated to tarnish the Iranian government image, particularly aimed at hampering current nuclear talks," Iranian government spokesman Hamid Babaei said.

Representatives for the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI declined to comment to TheBlaze.

(H/T: Gizmodo)

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