A new joint assessment fact sheet by US law enforcement agencies says, that the Iran-backed proxy cyber actors and hacktivist group “may still conduct malicious cyber activity,” “Based on the current geopolitical environment, Iranian-affiliated cyber actors may target US devices and networks for near-term cyber operations,” the bulletin from the cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency (CISA), FBI, NSA and defense department says.“Defense industrial base (DIB) companies, particularly those possessing holdings or relationships with Israeli research and defense firms, are at increased risk. Hacktivists and Iranian-government-affiliated actors routinely target poorly secured US networks and internet-connected devices for disruptive cyberattacks,” according to the bulletin. The alert comes amidst the ongoing negotiations between Iran and Israel towards a permanent solution, following a ceasefire.“Over the past several months, Iranian-aligned hacktivists have increasingly conducted website defacements and leaks of sensitive information exfiltrated from victims,” the alert says. “These hacktivists are likely to significantly increase distributed denial of service (DDoS) campaigns against US and Israeli websites due to recent events.”The fact sheet also says that the cyber attacks are not just a phenomenon of recent months but have been ongoing for years. The agencies refer to the multiple instances when islamic revolutionary guard corps (IRGC) carried out attacks and compromised Israeli-backed technology in 2023 and 2024. It also says after the conflict between Israel and Hamas began in 2023, IRGC-backed groups carried out numerous cyber attacks as a form of protest. “Activities like website defacements, leakage of sensitive information, and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) campaigns against US websites have been common attack methods in the past,” the alert says.The agencies, in a statement, have issued warning for critical infrastructure organisations to be on alert, although they haven’t come across any malicious activity. “We strongly urge organizations to review our joint fact sheet and implement recommended actions to strengthen our collective defense against this potential cyber activity,” the statement added.
