Page 49 - IRANRptNov20

FBI serves warning that Iranian hackers are using “the BIG-IP exploit” to attack US networks
Iran ‘could become first country where internet is controlled by military’
Local media reported that the video in question was removed an hour after being posted on Aparat, which has millions of Iranian users. The video producers were also arrested. The authorities claimed that they had received complaints from concerned citizens and families.
The BBC reported that seven others accused in the case have each been sentenced to 11 years in prison after being convicted of “encouraging corruption” and “publishing vulgar content.”
Aparat says on its website that uploaded videos should not violate moral and Islamic norms of the society and that users should avoid publishing videos that could cause “political tensions.”
Tens of thousands of websites are banned in Iran, including YouTube.
Iranian hackers, most likely employees or affiliates of Iran’s government, have been running a vast cyberespionage operation equipped with surveillance tools that can outsmart encrypted messaging systems—a capability Iran was not previously known to possess, according to two digital security reports released on September 18, as cited by ​The New York Times​.
Check Point Software Technologies​, a​ cybersecurity technology firm, and​ ​the Miaan Group​, ​a human rights organisation that focuses on digital security in the Middle East, reportedly claimed that the operation not only targets domestic dissidents, religious and ethnic minorities and anti-government activists abroad, but can also be used to spy on the general public inside Iran. The digital security reports were reviewed by the US daily in advance of their release. Obstacles created by encrypted applications such as Telegram are said to have been overcome by the hackers, while Miaan noted that they have even gained access to information on WhatsApp. The hackers have also created malware disguised as Android applications, the reports are said to note.
According to Check Point, the hackers—allegedly linked to a private technology firm in Iran’s northeastern city of Mashhad named Andromedaa from tracing malware used in attacks—use a variety of infiltration techniques, including phishing, but the most widespread method is sending what appear to be tempting documents and applications to carefully selected targets.
One of these is a Persian-language document titled “The Regime Fears the Spread of the Revolutionary Cannons.docx,” referring to the struggle between the government and anti-Islamic Republic exiled group MEK, sent to some of its members. Another document was purportedly disguised as a report widely awaited by human rights activists on a cybersecurity researcher.
Malware code in these documents triggered a number of spyware commands from an external server when the recipients opened them on their desktops or phones.
The spyware is said to have enabled the attackers to gain access to almost any file, log clipboard data, take screenshots and steal information. According to Miaan, one application empowered hackers to download data stored on WhatsApp.
Iran could become the first country where the internet is controlled by the military, a cybersecurity and digital rights researcher has warned. DW ​reported​ New York-based Amir Rashidi as raising alarm about a draft law initiated by lawmaker Nasrollah Pejmanfar, a legislator said to be convinced that neither the government nor parliament makes sufficient effort to regulate social media. Pejmanfar is the chairman of the Article 90 Commission, a constitutional body that hears complaints against the executive and legislative branches of Iran's government.
49​ IRAN Country Report November 2020 www.intellinews.com