Iranian Hackers: Sophisticated, Frustrated and a Rising Global Threat
- 6 years ago
Iranian Hackers: Sophisticated, Frustrated and a Rising Global Threat
By tracing where and how web domains were registered, as well as other data found online, Mr. Anderson concluded
that the aliases “mb_1986” and “ArYaIeIrAN,” represented two Iranian men whose real names were Mojtaba Borhani and Behrouz Keshvari.
In a report published Thursday, two independent cybersecurity researchers, Collin Anderson
and Karim Sadjadpour, followed nearly a decade of the day-to-day activities of Iranian hackers.
“We need someone for Mac in Tehran,” wrote Mr. Keshvari on June 15, 2014, bringing up a topic the two men had discussed nearly a month earlier.
“The vast majority of their most recent operations focuses on cyberespionage,” said Mr. Anderson, a statement echoed by John Hultquist, director of
intelligence analysis at the FireEye cybersecurity firm, which recently published its own report about one of Iran’s more active hacking groups
SAN FRANCISCO — Between breaking into the email accounts of United States government officials, political dissidents
and international human rights organizations, Iranian hackers liked to joke about their slow internet service, poor pay and lack of skilled colleagues.
Their focus on hiring people with an expertise in Apple products, specifically the Mac operating system, was unsurprising, said Mr. Anderson, given
that many of Iran’s dissidents and human rights workers had transitioned to Apple products in the hopes that they would prove more secure than Microsoft’s Windows software.
“Through their carelessness, we were able to get a real picture of who these individuals are
and what their goals are,” said Mr. Anderson, who has been researching Iranian hackers for more than five years.
By tracing where and how web domains were registered, as well as other data found online, Mr. Anderson concluded
that the aliases “mb_1986” and “ArYaIeIrAN,” represented two Iranian men whose real names were Mojtaba Borhani and Behrouz Keshvari.
In a report published Thursday, two independent cybersecurity researchers, Collin Anderson
and Karim Sadjadpour, followed nearly a decade of the day-to-day activities of Iranian hackers.
“We need someone for Mac in Tehran,” wrote Mr. Keshvari on June 15, 2014, bringing up a topic the two men had discussed nearly a month earlier.
“The vast majority of their most recent operations focuses on cyberespionage,” said Mr. Anderson, a statement echoed by John Hultquist, director of
intelligence analysis at the FireEye cybersecurity firm, which recently published its own report about one of Iran’s more active hacking groups
SAN FRANCISCO — Between breaking into the email accounts of United States government officials, political dissidents
and international human rights organizations, Iranian hackers liked to joke about their slow internet service, poor pay and lack of skilled colleagues.
Their focus on hiring people with an expertise in Apple products, specifically the Mac operating system, was unsurprising, said Mr. Anderson, given
that many of Iran’s dissidents and human rights workers had transitioned to Apple products in the hopes that they would prove more secure than Microsoft’s Windows software.
“Through their carelessness, we were able to get a real picture of who these individuals are
and what their goals are,” said Mr. Anderson, who has been researching Iranian hackers for more than five years.