Iran poses growing cyber threat to US: study

Iran poses a growing threat to America's computer networks and has launched increasingly sophisticated digital attacks and spying on US targets, according to a new report released today.
Iran's far-reaching hacking efforts indicate the regime is searching for vulnerable infrastructure that could be hit in future cyber assaults, said the study by private cyber security company Norse and the American Enterprise Institute think tank.
"Iran is emerging as a significant cyber threat to the US and its allies," the study said.
Iran's skill in the cyber realm has markedly improved in recent years and "Iran has already penetrated well-defended networks in the US and Saudi Arabia and seized and destroyed sensitive data," it said.

The hacking, including espionage and attacks, has expanded despite economic sanctions and high-stakes negotiations between Iran and world powers on Tehran's nuclear program, it said.
The study cited data from a network of millions of sensors set up by Norse. The sensors are designed to look like real websites or other computer systems -- for banks or power plants -- that might attract the interest of a hacker.

The data showed Iran was staging cyber assaults and probes from inside Iran as well as outside the country.
Iranian state companies, including some with links to Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, are allegedly hosting servers and other computer systems located in the West to carry out digital attacks, according to the report.

"Simply by registering and paying a fee, Iranian security services and ordinary citizens can gain access to advanced computer systems and software that the West has been trying to prevent them from getting at all," the study said.
The report argued that the hacking conducted outside Iran could be countered by Western companies that own the systems and software, denying access to Iranian organizations already blacklisted for rights violations or links to militants.
The study reflects warnings from US intelligence officials that Iran has made strides in its cyber capabilities, though China and Russia are considered the most skilled when it comes to digital warfare.