DHS and the FBI shared a joint alert on December third regarding the critical infrastructure threat posed by the Iranian SamSam virus. The ultimate purpose of the virus is the successful intrusion and takeover of a network for the purpose of extorting a ransom (ransomware). The alert recommended strong passwords,

“Israel on Tuesday announced that it has begun an extensive operation to neutralize Hezbollah-built tunnels, which are said to enter Israel and place targets in the north of the country at risk. The action has already been labeled operation ‘Northern Shield’ by Israeli security forces. Areas near the border have

Media website Nile Net Online portrays itself as the purveyor of “true news”…to expand the scope of freedom of expression in the Arab World” from supposed offices in Cairo. With over 115,000 followers between Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, it had a significant reach. The contact and geographical information listed on

“Two Iranian hackers charged Wednesday in a federal indictment were accused of attacking the computer networks of hospitals and other targets in 43 states, a broad criminal extortion campaign that walloped a heart hospital in Kansas and disrupted one of the nation’s largest diagnostic blood testing companies in North Carolina.

The U.S. has added four Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps currently operating within Iraq to the Specially Designated Global Terrorists list. The U.S. Treasury also stated that Hezbollah in Iraq is serving as a “terrorist proxy for the Iranian regime that seeks to undermine Iraqi sovereignty and destabilize the Middle East…this

Iranian access to the SWIFT financial system has now been cut off as part of US sanctions against the regime. While the SWIFT system is supposed to be an independent entity, the US has demonstrated its influence and control over it in this instance, leading critics to more actively support

In addition to the sanctions regime and other diplomatic efforts to counter Iran, U.S. Ambassador James Jeffrey has announced that it will also contest “more actively Iran’s activities particularly in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.” Isolating efforts against Iranian activity from Russian activity and others that work with it could prove

Iran employs a variety of methods, including cryptocurrency transactions, to avoid international sanctions. In an October advisory statement, the US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network stated that “with the full re-imposition on November 5th of sanctions lifted under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, FinCEN expects that Iranian financial

“Iran’s telecommunications minister accused Israel on Monday of a new cyber attack on its telecommunications infrastructure, and vowed to respond with legal action. This followed comments from another official last week that Iran had uncovered a new generation of Stuxnet, a virus which was used against the country’s nuclear program

An Israeli news bulletin is reporting that Iran “has admitted in the past few days that it is again facing a [Stuxnet-like] attack, from a more violent, more advanced and more sophisticated virus than before, that has hit infrastructure and strategic networks. The head of the Passive Defense Organization in