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The US Department of Justice says the platforms were used to publish hacked data and intimidate dissidents.
The US Department of Justice announced that it has shut down four websites that were allegedly used by groups affiliated with the Iranian government to publish hacked information and threaten critics of the regime.
The move comes amid concerns that the US-Israeli war with Iran could spill over into cyberattacks. A news agency linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard has threatened to target US technology companies, while one of the Iran-linked groups named by the Justice Department appears to have claimed responsibility for an attack on a medical technology company in Michigan last week.
Meanwhile, US military officials say cyber operations helped weaken Iran's communications in the early hours of the war.
The shut down sites bore names that matched three suspected hacking groups: Handala, Homeland Justice and Karma Below. In court documents, the FBI states that all three groups are run by the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security and use similar tactics, including specially-built “malware.”
The Justice Department says the four sites were used for "international hacking and repression schemes" sponsored by the Iranian government, as well as for "psychological operations targeted at regime opponents."
Pages linked to Handala were allegedly used to claim responsibility for "a devastating malware attack on a US-based multinational company operating in medical technology."
The Justice Department did not identify the company, but last week Stryker reported a cyberattack that caused “global outages.” Cybersecurity expert Brian Krebs wrote in a blog post that Handala appears to have claimed responsibility for the incident, which is alleged to be in retaliation for a deadly bombing of a girls’ school in Iran, for which initial assessments suggest the US may have been responsible.
Stryker says the attack was limited to Microsoft's internal systems and did not affect its products, including medical implants. CBS News has reached out to the company for comment.
According to the Justice Department, Handala also used the seized pages to claim responsibility for an attack on members of a Hasidic Jewish community and to publish the names and personal details of employees of the Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli government. At one point, the group allegedly called on supporters of Iran to “react” to these individuals.
Handala is also accused of sending death-threat emails earlier this month to Iranian dissidents and journalists, at least one of whom lives in the U.S. A message unearthed by the Justice Department alleges that Handala was “partnered” with the Mexican Jalisco New Generation cartel and offered a $250,000 reward for the target’s killing.
One of the other closed sites was linked to Homeland Justice and is suspected of being used to claim responsibility for the sensational 2022 cyberattack on the Albanian Government.
The FBI states in court documents that, as part of the investigation, an undercover agent purchased a large amount of stolen data from a Homeland Justice representative, including Albanian identity cards that appear to be related to the 2022 incident.
The latest cyberattack occurred against the system in the Albanian Parliament, where hacking has been reported, mainly in MPs' communications, through e-mail addresses.
"All conversations and correspondence of corrupt members of Parliament over the past few months are in the hands of Homeland Justice. We are much closer to you than you think. Did you really harbor those murderers and child killers? We will make sure that this shame remains with you forever," one of the published messages read.
In addition to the publication on Telegram, several MPs were also sent a threatening email from an external source, warning them not to click on the links or attached files, to avoid risks to the system's security.
“Iran thought it could hide behind fake websites and keyboard threats to terrorize Americans and silence dissidents,” FBI Director Kash Patel said. He added that “we have taken down four pillars of their operation and we are not done.”
US authorities have long warned of the risk of Iranian-sponsored cyberattacks. Iran has also been linked to efforts to suppress dissidents in the US for years, including several foiled plots to kidnap or kill Iranian-American journalist and regime critic Masih Alinejad, a contributor to CBS News.
After the attack on the Stryker last week, former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency, Chris Krebs, told CBS News that "the cyber front of this conflict has officially opened."
Krebs added on CBS Mornings that the line between the Handala group and the Iranian government is "very blurred."
"It looks like a general mobilization on the part of Iran," he said, adding, "all of their groups, whether directly linked to the military, intelligence services or intermediate structures, contractors or cyber activists, are targeting targets." /Pamphlet/
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