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When It Comes to Cyberattacks, Iran Plays the Odds

Jul 31, 2018 | 09:00 GMT

As tensions rise with the United States, hackers in Iran are expected to boost their attacks in the coming months.

As tensions rise with the United States, hackers in Iran are expected to boost their attacks in the coming months.

(Shutterstock)

Highlights

  • While Iran is capable of carrying out conventional military action, cyberspace is the more likely theater for its current conflict with the United States.
  • Iran's cyber threat groups tend to use unsophisticated yet tried-and-true tactics while targeting many individuals.
  • Awareness, knowledge and preparation are the best tools to defend against such tactics.

The war of words between the United States and Iran appears to be heating up in cyberspace. In recent weeks, the tension has grown palpable as the United States leads the drive to reimpose sanctions on Iran on Aug. 6. U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have traded heated threats with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the leader of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Quds Force. Though both sides are certainly capable of direct physical attacks, conventional warfare is not in their immediate interests. Iran has embraced cyberattacks as part of its asymmetric response to its Middle Eastern rivals and the United States, and this latest round of belligerence will likely be played out through cyber actions. And even though Iran doesn't pose as great a threat as China or Russia, its persistence and reliance on unsophisticated, yet tried-and-true tactics allow it...

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