US says its organizations are under attack by Iran-based hackers

Iran-based hackers supporting the Islamic Republic continue to enable ransomware attacks against organizations in the US, Azerbaijan Republic, Israel, and the UAE, US intelligence services warned.

In a joint report released on Wednesday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center (DC3) warned that Iran-backed hackers continued their attacks in August against organizations in the US and other countries, including Israel, Azerbaijan, and the UAE.

According to the report, sectors such as education, finance, healthcare, defense, and local government agencies in the US were targeted by hackers based in Iran.

The FBI assessed that a significant portion of these hackers' operations aimed to gain access to networks for ransomware activities. They also attempted to infiltrate computer networks to steal sensitive data from organizations in Israel and Azerbaijan.

The report comes less than a week after Meta said it had identified possible hacking attempts on WhatsApp accounts of US officials from the administrations of both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, blaming the same Iranian hacker group revealed earlier this month to have compromised Donald Trump's campaign.

The Trump campaign said earlier this month that its internal communications, including sensitive vice-presidential vetting files, were hacked in a breach they believe was orchestrated by Iranian hackers.

Iran's Permanent Mission to the United Nations dismissed the reports as “lacking credibility," denying any intention to interfere in the US presidential election.

Despite the denial, Tehran’s cyber warfare strategy has in recent years evolved into a sophisticated operation aimed at undermining the US political process and sowing chaos.

On August 8, the US announced a $10 million reward for information leading to the identification or whereabouts of six Iranian government hackers accused of carrying out cyberattacks on US water utilities last fall. The State Department emphasized its commitment to tracking down these suspects and holding them accountable.

The recent incidents are not isolated cases but part of a series of aggressive moves by Iranian cyber actors, including groups linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), to infiltrate and influence US elections.