Iranian hackers are targeting US energy and water sectors, federal agencies warn

Federal cyber and law enforcement agencies warned that Iranian-linked hackers are exploiting programmable logic controllers to target U.S. energy, water and government services sectors...

 https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/07/iranian-hackers-energy-water-cybersecurity-00862018

 

Iran-linked hackers take aim at U.S. and other targets, raising risk of cyberattacks during war | PBS News

Hackers supporting Iran claimed responsibility for a significant cyberattack Wednesday against U.S. medical device company Stryker. Since the war began Feb. 28, they also have tried to penetrate cameras in Middle Eastern countries to improve Iran's missile targeting. They have targeted data centers in the region, as well as industrial facilities in Israel, a school in Saudi Arabia and an airport in Kuwait… 

 Iran has invested heavily in its offensive cyber capabilities while cultivating ties to hacking groups. In recent years, groups working for Tehran have infiltrated the email system of President Donald Trump's campaign, targeted U.S. water plants and tried to breach the networks used by the military and defense contractors…

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/iran-linked-hackers-take-aim-at-u-s-and-other-targets-raising-risk-of-cyberattacks-during-war 

 

U.S. officials urge Americans to use encrypted apps amid cyberattack

Officials from the FBI and CISA said it was impossible to predict when the telecommunications companies would be fully safe from interlopers...

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/us-officials-urge-americans-use-encrypted-apps-cyberattack-rcna182694

State-backed cyber groups will use AI to disrupt elections in the US, South Korea and India, Microsoft warns

There was also an increased use of AI-generated TV news anchors, a tactic that has also been used by Iran, with the "anchor" making unsubstantiated claims about Lai's private life including fathering illegitimate children. 

Microsoft said the news anchors were created by the CapCut tool, which is developed by Chinese company ByteDance, the owner of TikTok...

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/apr/05/china-using-ai-disrupt-elections

How a hacked Facebook scammed a follower out of $5,000 - The Washington Post

While the therapist got ensnared in one of social media's persistent, expensive problems, his acquaintance Bell fell victim to a Facebook hack. Hacking and being scammed are so common that law enforcement officials are growing just as frustrated as consumers. Last week, a bipartisan group of 41 attorneys general sent a letter to the top lawyer for Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, urging the company to take "immediate action" to address "the dramatic increase in user account takeovers" on its platforms.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/03/13/hacked-facebook-account-scam/

China’s cyber intrusions have hit ports and utilities, officials say - The Washington Post

China "is sitting on a stockpile of strategic" vulnerabilities, or undisclosed security flaws it can use in stealthy attacks, Adamski said last month at the CyberWarCon conference in Washington. "This is a fight for our critical infrastructure. We have to make it harder for them."…

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/12/11/china-hacking-hawaii-pacific-taiwan-conflict/

‘Vulkan files’ leak reveals Putin’s global and domestic cyberwarfare tactics

One document links a Vulkan cyber-attack tool with the notorious hacking group Sandworm, which the US government said twice caused blackouts in Ukraine, disrupted the Olympics in South Korea and launched NotPetya, the most economically destructive malware in history. Codenamed Scan-V, it scours the internet for vulnerabilities, which are then stored for use in future cyber-attacks. 

Another system, known as Amezit, amounts to a blueprint for surveilling and controlling the internet in regions under Russia's command, and also enables disinformation via fake social media profiles. A third Vulkan-built system – Crystal-2V – is a training program for cyber-operatives in the methods required to bring down rail, air and sea infrastructure. A file explaining the software states: "The level of secrecy of processed and stored information in the product is 'Top Secret'."… 

"These documents suggest that Russia sees attacks on civilian critical infrastructure and social media manipulation as one and the same mission, which is essentially an attack on the enemy's will to fight."… 

One part of Amezit is domestic-facing, allowing operatives to hijack and take control of the internet if unrest breaks out in a Russian region, or the country gains a stronghold over territory in a rival nation state, such as Ukraine. Internet traffic deemed to be politically harmful can be removed before it has a chance to spread…

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/mar/30/vulkan-files-leak-reveals-putins-global-and-domestic-cyberwarfare-tactics

What has Anonymous done to Russia? Here are the results

…Since then, the account — which has more than 7.9 million followers, with some 500,000 gained since Russia's invasion of Ukraine — has claimed responsibility for disabling prominent Russian government, news and corporate websites and leaking data from entities such as Roskomnadzor, the federal agency responsible for censoring Russian media...

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/16/what-has-anonymous-done-to-russia-here-are-the-results-.html

Hackers breach, attempt to poison Florida city's water supply | TheHill

... Cyberattacks on critical infrastructure groups have increased in recent years, with hospitals nationwide seeing a spike in attempted hacks during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the recent hack of IT group SolarWinds by Russian operatives compromising much of the federal government for over a year...

https://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/537890-hackers-breach-attempt-to-poison-florida-citys-water-supply

Opinion | I Was the Homeland Security Adviser to Trump. We’re Being Hacked. - The New York Times

...The logical conclusion is that we must act as if the Russian government has control of all the networks it has penetrated. But it is unclear what the Russians intend to do next. The access the Russians now enjoy could be used for far more than simply spying. The actual and perceived control of so many important networks could easily be used to undermine public and consumer trust in data, written communications and services. In the networks that the Russians control, they have the power to destroy or alter data, and impersonate legitimate people. Domestic and geopolitical tensions could escalate quite easily if they use their access for malign influence and misinformation — both hallmarks of Russian behavior...

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/16/opinion/fireeye-solarwinds-russia-hack.html

Romney: 'Stunning' for White House not to respond on Russian cyberattack | TheHill

...This is almost as if you had a Russian bomber flying undetected over the country, including over the nation's capital, and not to respond in a setting like that is really stunning," Romney told Knox...

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/530738-romney-stunning-for-white-house-not-to-respond-on-russian-cyberattack

Democrats left in the dark on Russian Instagram attacks - The Washington Post

Campaigns targeted by Russian interference on Facebook-owned Instagram were not alerted by the tech giant....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/as-russia-makes-2020-play-democratic-campaigns-say-they-are-in-the-dark-and-experts-fear-us-elections-are-vulnerable/2019/10/28/71ffb55c-f5eb-11e9-ad8b-85e2aa00b5ce_story.html

New advanced malware, possibly nation sponsored, is targeting US utilities - Ars Technica

Dear Engineer. You failed your licensing exam. Open this document to learn more.....
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2019/08/new-advanced-malware-possibly-nation-sponsored-is-targeting-us-utilities/

Windows 10 Warning: 250M Account Takeover Trojan Disables Windows Defender - Forbes

Windows 10 users are fortunate in having pretty good malware protection in the form of Windows Defender, right out of the box. Until, that is, malware figures out a way to not only evade detection but disable Defender altogether.....
https://www.forbes.com/sites/daveywinder/2019/07/31/windows-10-warning-250m-account-takeover-trojan-disables-windows-defender/#261481ac6fef

What Russian interference? While grilling Mueller, Republicans repeatedly downplay it - The Washington Post

The Russia investigation has been one long, highly politicized slog. But even as Republicans have cast doubt on the idea that President Trump obstructed justice or colluded with Russia, there was one thing most everyone generally agreed upon: Russian interference in the 2016 election was bad, and a recurrence must be stopped. You wouldn’t know it from having watched Republicans on Wednesday.....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/07/25/what-russian-interference-while-grilling-mueller-republicans-repeatedly-downplay-it/

It’s not just the Russians anymore as Iranians and others turn up disinformation efforts ahead of 2020 vote - The Washington Post

It's not just Russia. Election disinformation experts say Iran and several other nations have developed substantial capacity to wage Russian-style information operations in the United States ahead of next year's election. That means American voters are likely to be targeted in the coming campaign season by more foreign disinformation than ever before.....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/07/25/its-not-just-russians-anymore-iranians-others-turn-up-disinformation-efforts-ahead-vote/

Top Democrat demands answers on election equipment vulnerabilities - The Hill

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) is demanding answers from the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) as to how the federal agency plans to secure election equipment amid reports that most machines depend on software that will soon be out-of-date and vulnerable to cyber attacks...
https://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/453123-top-democrat-demands-answers-on-election-equipment-vulnerabilities

Hackers steal call records from cell providers in ‘massive-scale’ espionage - The Verge

The attackers are believed to be state-backed
https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/25/18744020/operation-softcell-hack-call-detail-records-apt10-cybersecurity-cell-network-providers

Hacked documents reveal sensitive details of expanding border surveillance - The Washington Post

The recent cyberattack on a U.S. Customs and Border Protection subcontractor didn’t expose just the faces and license plates of thousands of U.S. travelers. It also revealed the inner workings of a complex surveillance network that border authorities have long sought to keep secret...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/06/21/hacked-documents-reveal-sensitive-details-expanding-border-surveillance/

Trump Aided and Abetted Russia’s Attack. That Was Treachery. Full Stop - Mother Jones

On Sunday afternoon Attorney General William Barr sent a letter to Congress noting that Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation "did not establish that members of the Trump Campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities." ...
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/03/trump-mueller-report-russia/