Iranian
hackers have been identified as the source of coordinated attacks
against more than 50 targets in 16 countries, many of them corporate
and government entities that manage critical energy, transportation
and medical services.
According
to Cylance, a security firm based in California in USA, over the
course of two years Iranian hackers managed to steal confidential
data from a long list of targets and in some cases infiltrated
victims computer networks to such an extent that they could take
over, manipulate or easily destroy data on those machines.
Cylance
called the attacks “Operation Cleaver” because the word cleaver
appeared often in the attackers malicious code.
The
hackers used a set of tools that can spy and even shut down critical
control systems and computer networks, and aimed them at targets in
the United States, Canada, Israel, India, Qatar, Kuwait, Mexico,
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Germany,
France, England, China and South Korea.
Victims
of the attacks include: US Marine Corps, a major airline, a medical
university, an energy company that specializes in natural gas
production, a car manufacturer, a major military installation and a
large military contractor. The Islamic Republic also concentrated
attacks on oil and gas industries and universities in the United
States, India, Israel and South Korea and managed to steal pictures,
passports and specific identifying information for students and
faculty.
Cylance
said it also collected worrying evidence of attacks on transport
networks, including airlines and airports in South Korea, Saudi
Arabia and Pakistan. Researchers said they found evidence that
hackers gained complete remote access to airport gates and security
control systems, “potentially allowing them to spoof gate
credentials.”
See
here for full report:
http://www.cylance.com/assets/Cleaver/Cylance_Operation_Cleaver_Report.pdf
