US Suspects Iran Was Behind a Wave of Cyberattacks 292
A reader writes in with this Times article about more trouble brewing between the U.S. and Iran. "American intelligence officials are increasingly convinced that Iran was the origin of a serious wave of network attacks that crippled computers across the Saudi oil industry and breached financial institutions in the United States, episodes that contributed to a warning last week from Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta that the United States was at risk of a 'cyber-Pearl Harbor.' After Mr. Panetta's remarks on Thursday night, American officials described an emerging shadow war of attacks and counterattacks already under way between the United States and Iran in cyberspace. Among American officials, suspicion has focused on the 'cybercorps' that Iran's military created in 2011 — partly in response to American and Israeli cyberattacks on the Iranian nuclear enrichment plant at Natanz — though there is no hard evidence that the attacks were sanctioned by the Iranian government. The attacks emanating from Iran have inflicted only modest damage. Iran's cyberwarfare capabilities are considerably weaker than those in China and Russia, which intelligence officials believe are the sources of a significant number of probes, thefts of intellectual property and attacks on American companies and government agencies."
So? (Score:5, Interesting)
This might be a problem if the US wasn't doing it in return.
If you are actively trying to sabotage someone else's infrastructure, you have to expect them to do it back.
I'd put money on who started it.
I have no sympathy for the US in this regard..
No certainty on attacks,but certainty on downloads (Score:2, Interesting)
So let me get this straight...it's impossible to say with certainty who's behind the attacks...but it is possible to say with certainty who downloaded a song or movie?...seems like the government is acknowledging that an IP address doesn't equal a person (or even nation for that matter).
I know it's an over simplification...call it hyperbole to make a point.
cyber war is just a figure of speech (Score:5, Interesting)
Cyber war is like the war on drugs. Like the war on terror. Like all of the other 'wars' that are not wars at all. If this is Iran's idea of war then I say bring it on. It was idiotic of us to start this shit in the first place. When someone in Iran wants to buy something they go to a store. Disabling their internets would just slightly invonvenience them. For us it would be more than just a slight inconvenience. It would be a serious inconvenience.
If the new idea of "war" is not to kill anyone, but instead to just disable some web sites well that's a new world order that I can back enthusiastically. Maybe the world will be civilized enough some day to fight wars completely in cyber-space through special video games approved by both sides.
The idea of a cyber Pearl Harbor is one of the most idiotic things I've heard in a while. What these idiots don't seem to understand is that 'information super highway' is just a figure of speech. There is no actual highway or anything.
"We won't succeed in preventing a cyber attack through improved defenses alone," Mr. Panetta said. "If we detect an imminent threat of attack that will cause significant, physical destruction in the United States or kill American citizens, we need to have the option to take action against those who would attack us to defend this nation when directed by the president. For these kinds of scenarios, the department has developed that capability to conduct effective operations to counter threats to our national interests in cyberspace."
This statement is so clearly insane that I don't even know what to say in response except it's not the Iranians that scare me. It's my own fucking idiotic shit-for-brains government. I can just imagine these violent idiots starting a war based on some random Iranian dude taking down some e-commerce sites. Ooh, Americans are not able to complete their Amazon orders for a few hours. Boohoo. Let's go to war.
Re:Who started it? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:How nice of you to notice (Score:5, Interesting)
Iran did not launch any fucking "cyber attack." This is nothing more than a convenient excuse drummed up by the U.S. to help justify an invasion. They have been searching high and low for a good excuse for some time.
It's unclear if Iran did or didn't lauch any cyber attacks. However it's clear that Iran has been blamed for countless things since the Iraq invasion. Iran also has the world's third biggest oil reserves, oil reserves that the US is strong arming the world into not buying right now.
I'm with your theory. The US is trying to justify an invasion in order to take Iranian oil. However the US can't justify a full scale invasion with a few computer hacks, they will keep blaming Iran for everything and anything until they stumble onto something big enough to justify an invasion.
Total bullshit ... (Score:3, Interesting)
You mean IRAN was going to take back what the British had previously stolen from them, their own oil. link [wikipedia.org]
Re:Who started it? (Score:4, Interesting)
Allow me to draw your attention to Section H of the IAEA director general's report dated 30 August 2012 on Iran's nuclear program, where it states, among other things: "39. The Annex to the Director General's November 2011 report (GOV/2011/65) provided a detailed analysis of the information available to the Agency, indicating that Iran has carried out activities that are relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device." In short, they have found nuclear weapons related activities.
Sure, but those things are also relevant to nuclear power and non-nuclear weapons. That is all he is saying there.
It is European Union members that are taking the lead in trying to turn Iran around diplomatically
Yes, and your little cold war along with Israel's constantly "robust" language is sabotaging it at every turn.
My question to you is, how do you get this so wrong?
That would be my question to you. You actually illustrated the GP's point perfectly. The EU is trying to sort this out with diplomacy, the US is waging an active cyber war and Israel is busy assassinating Iranian citizens. Apparently the US and Israel feel they have the right to act that way.
The United States has acted in its interests, just like other powers.
Are you really incapable of understanding the difference between (cold) warfare and acting within international law and the legal frameworks that exist?
I'm not surprised, but I'll work with you on this one - what did Stuxnet attack? Parts of the nuclear weapons program. If the nuclear weapons program didn't exist, would Stuxnet have exited?
Unless those facilities were for civilian use, in which case they attacked a civilian target.
Iran Threatens To 'Freeze' Europe for Backing Sanctions
Fortunately Europe is not so dumb as to be totally reliant on Iran not to freeze to death. Seriously, how can you be dumb enough to believe that crap? Europe takes energy security very seriously and has already banned exports of most forms of energy from Iran.