FBI: Iran to Launch New Cyber Attacks

 

Iranian hackers poised for wide-ranging strikes in retaliation for U.S. leaving nuclear deal

The FBI is warning that Iranian hackers could conduct new cyber attacks on American businesses and government networks in response to the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.

“The FBI assesses foreign cyber actors operating in the Islamic Republic of Iran could potentially use a range of computer network operations—from scanning networks for potential vulnerabilities to data deletion attacks—against U.S.-based networks in response to the U.S. government’s withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA),” the FBI said in a cyber alert to U.S. businesses.

U.S. counterintelligence chief skeptical China has curbed spying on U.S.

U.S. counterintelligence chief Bill Evanina said on Wednesday he was skeptical China had followed through on recent promises to curb spying on the United States.

Evanina told a briefing that he had seen “no indication” from the U.S. private sector “that anything has changed” in the extent of Chinese espionage on the United States.

Former US government employee tried to steal nuclear weapons secrets

The US Justice Department has charged a former government employee for allegedly  trying to steal nuclear secrets through email attacks and sell them to China.

According to an indictment , Charles Eccleston allegedly attempted the “spear-phishing” attack in January targeting dozens of email accounts,  which he believed  would unleash a virus to collect sensitive information on nuclear weapons.

Eccleston, a former employee at the Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, has lived in the Philippines since 2011 after being fired in 2010.