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Iran Recruits Online Talent For Quick Cyber Strikes (axios.com) 212

Posted by msmash from the shape-of-things-to-come dept.
An anonymous reader shares a report: Iran recruits heavily from online security forums to staff suddenly-launched hacking campaigns, according to new research by Recorded Future. The report comes a day after security experts expressed fears Iran may retaliate against the United States for withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal. As a Recorded Future official said yesterday -- albeit without the detail of the report -- if emergency hiring leads Tehran to hire amateurs, they may be less amenable to government control.

Recorded Future based its conclusions on discussions with a well-placed source in the Iranian hacker community and analysis of Iranian security forums. Iran operates a tiered system for cyber attacks, where government employees choose targets and contract private firms, including universities acting as contractors, to do the dirty work.
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Iran Recruits Online Talent For Quick Cyber Strikes More

Iran Recruits Online Talent For Quick Cyber Strikes

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  • Great! More excuse! (Score:2, Insightful)

    by lsllll ( 830002 )
    This will be a great excuse to make first strike against Iran, which is what Israel wants. Bad move on Iran's part. They should just count U.S. out and deal with the rest of the World. The U.S. is alienating itself greatly already anyways.

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Rick Schumann ( 4662797 )

      The U.S. is alienating itself greatly already anyways.

      No, get it straight: The current POTUS and the people he's appointing to cabinet positions are alienating the rest of the world, our allies included. He seems to think that the U.S. can stand alone in the world and survive. He, of course, is completely wrong.

      • He, of course, is completely wrong.

        That is opinion, not fact. I don't agree that this move is wrong, which is my opinion.

        Nearly Half of the voters in the country agree with me. Trump ran on this action, said he was going to do this during the campaign. A lot of folks thought this idea was a good one.

        So, we don't know who's wrong here. We won't know that until history has a chance to judge the action.

      • Re: (Score:2, Troll)

        by sexconker ( 1179573 )

        He seems to think that the U.S. can stand alone in the world and survive. He, of course, is completely wrong.

        Oh, how wrong you are!

        The rest of the world couldn't even feed itself if the US closed itself off. They'd destroy themselves in war in a heartbeat.

      • Re:Great! More excuse! (Score:5, Insightful)

        by jwhyche ( 6192 ) on Wednesday May 09, 2018 @02:47PM (#56583230) Homepage

        The current POTUS and the people he's appointing to cabinet positions are alienating the rest of the world, our allies included

        Except, that doesn't seem to be the case. All our allies seem to be happy with Trump leadership. South Korea is tickled pink with him. Japan seems to be pleased with the way things are working out. Nothing shaking in the Nato court, seems pretty normal there. For better or worse, depending on your point of view, Israel is very happy with Trump.

        Mexico is unhappy, but they are always unhappy when the gravy train from the U.S. is threatened. Iran has been unhappy for the last 40 years, nothing new there. Russia and US relation are pretty normal, despite was alarmist are saying. China, we are arguing about trade with them, like we have been for the past 2 decades, nothing new there.

        So the world seems to be ticking right along, situation normal.

        I don't mind if you bitch about Trump, hell it seems to be a sport now. But if you are going to bitch, bitch abut something that is real and not something that you made up after you read some bullshit blog.

        Here are some examples. His attempts to increase coal production. Some of the EPA appointees that seem to be a problem. Or his increased spending in the military. What happened to more is with less?

        Bitch away but lets stick to facts.

        • Re: (Score:2, Troll)

          by Rick Schumann ( 4662797 )
          Bullshit. He was advised by other signatories to NOT to back out of it, and by the way how does it make the U.S. look to the rest of the world when we can't be bothered AS A COUNTRY to stand by our agreements regardless of having a narcissist with Tourette's in the Whitehouse? All he's doing is peeing all over everything he can so it stinks like he does so he can satisfy his ego and 'make his mark on history', which by the way will be as the WORST POTUS in our history -- assuming there's even a country left

          • Re:Great! More excuse! (Score:5, Interesting)

            by jwhyche ( 6192 ) on Wednesday May 09, 2018 @03:55PM (#56583764) Homepage

            Wrong again, but I see what you are grousing about. You are making noises about that silly Iran "agreement" that Obama made. Well you should probably do a little research before getting worked up. Iran never signed that "agreement." In fact, there was no "agreement." It was just Obama trying to be a hero and do a end run around Congress. The US never signed it ether. It was a non binding agreement, it was legally, literally worth less than the paper it was printed on.

            A little advice. You seem to be really smart sometimes but you let your TDS blind you. You should do a little more research with your eyes completely opened. Do your research a little more like this. Don't look at a issue with a small narrow time frame. Look at the whole picture and spread it over several years. Then actually take the time to read up on a subject.

            There, I hope this helps.

        • All our allies seem to be happy with Trump leadership.

          - Citation needed

        • South Korea is tickled pink with him.

          They should be. Trump's policies in Korea have been very successful. He has cooperated diplomatically with South Korea, brushed assigned the normal American intransigence, and agreed to engage direcly with North Korea, in opposition to the ossified American bureaucracy.

          The lessons here are clear:

          1. Cooperate with your allies.
          2. Be willing to talk to your enemies.

          The problem with Iran is that he is doing the exact opposite. No cooperation with the other signatories. No diplomatic alternatives on the ta

          • Re:Great! More excuse! (Score:4)

            by jwhyche ( 6192 ) on Wednesday May 09, 2018 @04:05PM (#56583856) Homepage

            The problem with Iran is that he is doing the exact opposite. No cooperation with the other signatories. No diplomatic alternatives on the table.

            No, he isn't. He is doing the exact same thing with Iran that he did with N.K. Just no body is taking time to actually look. Trump and Kim Un, started shouting at each other, threatening to blow each other up, then they all sat down at the table once they got through shouting at each other. Nothing different here.

            Hell, this has been the status quo for the last 60 years. A lot of yelling and bolstering, then every one sits down and talks. Same thing is going on here but now it will be done right, hopefully. We will get a signed treaty that can be enforced with U.N. backing.

          • Re: (Score:3)

            by jwhyche ( 6192 )

            American support for Israel is declining, especially with young people and Democratic voters

            Sorry, I didn't see this comment before I posted.

            Israel's star among the common American has been declining for the last 20 years. I personally wouldn't mind seeing it taken down a couple more notches. Just my personal option but I would rather see the US align more with Jordan, for nothing more than I like their King.

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by dog77 ( 1005249 )
              Why would you want Israel taken down a few notches, it is one of the few middle eastern countries with a democracy where freedom of religion is protected and its people are free to practice the religion they choose. It should be no surprise that the US supports democracies like itself around the world.

              • it is one of the few middle eastern countries with a democracy

                ... except for the millions of people in the occupied territories who have no vote. They should be offered either citizenship or independence. Israel offers them neither.

                where freedom of religion is protected

                ... except that the force of law is used to impose Jewish religious practices on non-Jews, including laws on the observance of the sabbath.

                and its people are free to practice the religion they choose.

                ... unless they choose the wrong religion. For instance a Jewish Israeli can marry a non-Israeli, and their spouse will be granted residency in Israel and a pathway to citizenship. Non-Jewish citizen

          • Anybody remember when Carter went to North Korea to negotiate a deal? That was direct engagement, and it got better results than Trump's shown so far.

            I'm not calling Trump's policies successful unless he does actually get a significantly better deal, and it holds over a decade.

        • Re: (Score:3)

          by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          Japan is very unhappy with Trump. He pulled out of TTP, then tried to bully them into a shitty deal for beef and cars, and now wants back in to TTP.

          Russia is quite pleased with Trump, he is exactly what they wanted.

          Europe has largely given up on the guy, except for the UK that desperately needs a trade deal in a year or two.

          • Re: (Score:3)

            by jwhyche ( 6192 )

            Nope, Japan and US relations seem to be as strong as ever. There where some year old articles about rocky relationships at the start of Trumps presidency, but now things seem be all stable. Nothing to report there. So what if he wants back in the TTP? Maybe he now sees pulling out as a mistake and wants to correct it? If that is true then it is a good thing The means he can see he made a mistake and is willing to correct it.

            Please don't trot out that old Russian and the election. Two years in and

          • Japan is very unhappy with Trump. He pulled out of TTP, then tried to bully them into a shitty deal for beef and cars, and now wants back in to TTP.

            Russia is quite pleased with Trump, he is exactly what they wanted.

            Europe has largely given up on the guy, except for the UK that desperately needs a trade deal in a year or two.

            Right but now since your savior Trump backed out of the TTP which was meant to be a hold on China's strength it means the next president will sign another agreement favoring the China instead of the US/Japan/South Korea as China will have even more leverage in 4 years.

            Thanks Trump.

        • Yes because sending insulting Tweets at 4am is so presidential and professional deserving a peace prize. They sure work and respect Trump's intelligence and Hubris as a result.

          • Re: (Score:3)

            by jwhyche ( 6192 )

            Well lets see. The summit with Trump and North Korea is going to be happening in Singapore on June 12th. So, what we can walk away with no matter what you think of Trumps tactics, it worked.

            I believe we have exhausted this subject. Quite honestly with this being a US matter and you not being a US citizen your option really doesn't matter on this subject. So I believe it would be best if you stuck to judging your countries leaders and we will stick with our.

            Moving on.

      • our military is the largest in the world bar none. We're the only country with a real, modern navy. Only China comes close and they can't feed their people without our granaries. We can literally just starve them out. This is precisely why the people in America can't afford to become belligerent warmongers. We have the potential to drag all of civilization back to the dark ages... or do the opposite and usher in a Star Trek style utopia. When you go to the polls in America that's the choice you're making.

        • our military is the largest in the world bar none.

          I think Rome made that same claim for a while and how did that turn out? And besides, if you go alone, who will make your iPhones?

        • I think you are in a dream. Let's say Iran goes nuts. How do you propose we move 1 million troops to the region easily and quickly? Iraq and Syria will side with Iran and so will Russia eager to want to stop western influence.

          Iran will threaten the US with a nuke if we get involved and we will cave.

      • It ticks me off that I keep hearing arguments like this whose predictions regarding the POTUS in the last 2 years have been *completely* wrong. If you are an exception to that pattern I would like to know based on what track record of yours should we take your claim at its value?

    • This will be a great excuse to make first strike against Iran, which is what Israel wants. Bad move on Iran's part. They should just count U.S. out and deal with the rest of the World. The U.S. is alienating itself greatly already anyways.

      You think cyber-attacks make a good excuse for a first strike? Not even Trump can get away with that one.

      And no one is going to care if Iran starts hacking the US, the international community will probably just consider if fair play considering the stunt Trump just pulled.

      How a cyber-war works out for Iran is another question, the US certainly has better hackers but it also has way more targets. And winning a cyber-war might not help Iran once the clown brigade has left the White House.

  • I can't begin to imagine what intelligent person would be willing to risk the level of retribution and prosecution after getting caught in the middle of a internet warfare.

    • I can't begin to imagine what intelligent person would be willing to risk the level of retribution and prosecution after getting caught in the middle of a internet warfare.

      People who don't understand the internet, networks, computers? Like... (i'm generalazing and assuming here, and we all know how dangerous that is) .... like.. most, if not all of the old, old-school world leaders? Especially those who don't bother to appoint "with-it" advisors.. or worse... fail to listen to advise?

      Hell yeah I think a net war is far more likely than a shooting war. And thanks to IoT, one can lead to the other. Yay! Skynet!

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Hentes ( 2461350 )

      Technical knowledge doesn't guarantee political insight.

      • Lack of technical knowledge will likely make for distorted political insight and create blind spots.. imo.

  • so is every country. Expect to see lots of these stories in the coming months. You're being prepped for war. They did the same thing leading up to Iraq and we fell for it then. Don't fall for it this time. Show up at your primaries and your Mid terms if you don't want to blow yet another $1 trillion dollars on a pointless war.

    • North Korea.... What where you saying about that a year ago and How's that working out? Didn't they just release three US prisoners today and are they not discussing a peace treaty and nuclear disarmament after all this time?

      I don't think I'd be making confident predictions about the effects of Trump's actions if I where you.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by lsllll ( 830002 )
        Do not mistake Iran for NK. The last thing China would've wanted was a war in the Korean peninsula. It was China that pressured and convinced Kim into this position. Kim is batshit crazy and he would never have come to the table like this on his own.

        Contrast that with Iran. The ruling parties are batshit crazy, but there's nobody to reign them in. They will not just bow to the U.S.' wishes. They are defiant, and they have many countries on their side, and this move by the U.S. is throwing even more

        • Do not mistake Iran for NK. The last thing China would've wanted was a war in the Korean peninsula. It was China that pressured and convinced Kim into this position. Kim is batshit crazy and he would never have come to the table like this on his own.

          China and South Korea also put a lot of pressure on the US to not start a war in Korea. The US has been a lot more hawkish than SK; SK understandably don't want a war on their doorstep where 10's of thousands (if they are lucky, it's that low) of their own people will die. If it weren't for saner voices in China and SK; I've no doubt Trump would have tried military action.

          That said, I'm not convinced NK will disarm itself.

        • There really was no "deal" here. It was a one sided promise by an ex-president who didn't have the authority to make a "deal" and who was fully aware that he was powerless to make any "deal" because Congress wouldn't ratify it as required by the Constitution.

          The question about if Iran was abiding by the agreement or not has a pretty clear answer, despite all the fog being generated by Trump's detractors, they obviously where not. Israel's evidence clearly show Iran's pattern of lying, and Iran's statement

          • Re: (Score:3)

            by lsllll ( 830002 )

            Israel's evidence clearly show Iran's pattern of lying, and Iran's statements clearly indicate they where still actively developing nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them, despite the "deal".

            You mean the papers that CIA has known about for a decade? [cbsnews.com] And which were the precursor to the agreement that was made? What Israel brought to the table is nothing new. It was known before, which is why an agreement was needed to curb the Iranians' effort to make a nuclear bomb. The agreement did just that. IAEA has certified over and over that Iran is in compliance with the terms of the agreement.

            • Israel's evidence clearly show Iran's pattern of lying, and Iran's statements clearly indicate they where still actively developing nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them, despite the "deal".

              You mean the papers that CIA has known about for a decade? [cbsnews.com] And which were the precursor to the agreement that was made? What Israel brought to the table is nothing new. It was known before, which is why an agreement was needed to curb the Iranians' effort to make a nuclear bomb. The agreement did just that. IAEA has certified over and over that Iran is in compliance with the terms of the agreement.

              Right.. the IAEA is to be trusted and Iran let them see everything? (not as far as you can throw them and not on your life.)

              The Iranians are lying to the IAEA, just like they did before the agreement was made (as the evidence proves). The problem here is the IAEA didn't have unrestricted inspection rights, even to the locations we KNEW where being used (as the evidence shows). The agreement didn't specify these locations. The IAEA's view of the situation was thus limited. Iran was/is lying that they

              • But your opinion somehow does?
                Guys, we have a world class nuclear expert here. You should apply to the IAEA director position.

          • The question is not whether Trump has the authority to end the deal, but whether it is wise. The President has the authority to make deals that aren't actually treaties, since the President has a lot of authority at his or her discretion.

            Before the Obama deal, we were holding onto frozen Iranian assets, and the rest of the world put sanctions on Iran. Iran got its money back, and currently other countries are trading with Iran. The US isn't the sole source of anything Iran really needs. Multilateral

  • Iranians smart enough to realize... (Score:3)

    by TheZeitgeist ( 5083373 ) on Wednesday May 09, 2018 @02:30PM (#56583062)

    ...that Obama's deal was with Obama alone. Iranians can read US Constitution and watch US news. They knew no Senate ratification = no treaty = it isn't worth squat. They watched political developments in this country and knew in November 2016 Obama's deal was over sooner than later. If they act surprised or taken aback, well that is indeed an act or the Iranians haven't been paying attention for past couple years.

    Why then did the Iranians sign up at all? Probably the literal pallets of unmarked bills (among many other assets) that now fund Iranian (mis)adventures in Syria and Yemen. They got a lot of checks cashed before this thing ended.

    Incidentally the legal mechanics that let Trump scuttle this also are why Paris carbon deal is DOA. USA just getting ahead of the curve there anyways; Europeans got the third world onboard with Paris with collective bribe of ~$100 billion a year for developing world to 'mitigate' climate change. I'm not making that up. Its getting to be put up or shutup time on that front; the African contingent is already complaining about when-how the checks start showing up - and we all know they never will. Obama was a clown in his deals both in mechanics of the deals and leaving them to hang in administrative limbo for next President. Good riddance Lightworker.

    • The reality is that the Iranians never signed up. They did NOT sign the agreement. The ONLY signatory was President Obama. He (rather, Secretary Kerry) negotiated it, signed it, gave it to them, they ignored it, and he said "all right! Let's start executing on it and fully abide by it!" There was NO sign-up by the Iranians. This is a lot of angst over a wish by President Obama that literally no one approved or even agreed to.
      • - Citation needed
        • Provided [dailymail.co.uk]. Note this article is about 5 months AFTER the supposed signing happened, and it was the Kerry State Department which confirmed it was never signed by the Iranians.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by mvdwege ( 243851 )

            The Daily Mail? The DAILY MAIL?!

            <points and laughs>

            • Ahh, it's the messenger not the message? If you were at least curious to look, you would have seen an actual letter - on State Department letterhead - explaining it has NOT been signed. Proof is there - if you are willing to actually look at it. But I guess if it's not on CNN (who gave debate questions to Hillary, so you know they're fair and balanced) it's not real?

              • Re: (Score:2)

                by mvdwege ( 243851 )

                Yes, the messenger is suspect. It's the Daily Mail. If they say the sun rises in the East, you had best take a compass out the next morning to check.

                The fact that you uncritically believe them is a tell: you're an idiot.

                • Your inner bigot is showing! Since you're so terrified of media other than MSNBC/CNN, here's the letter [scribd.com] plainly stating it has not been signed. But you'll probably ignore this as well, since it runs counter to your pre-conceived conclusions.

                  A closed mind is a wasted mind, you really should do better than bitch about the messenger. Sad.

                  • Re: (Score:2)

                    by mvdwege ( 243851 )

                    No, I'm just saying that I don't believe anything you say, because you are provably an idiot. Proven by quoting the Daily Fail as a source. No matter what you say, all you'll get from me is pointing and laughing.

                    The credibility of a source matters. You have none.

  • "Iran recruits heavily from online security forums to staff suddenly-launched hacking campaigns, according to new research by Recorded Future."

    Why is it hacking is only ever done by just whoever is Americas current best enemy?

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