Iran and Russia hit by global cyber attack that left U.S. flag on screens

[Hugo Stiglitz 23356]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-cyber-hackers/iran-hit-by-global-cyber-attack-that-left-u-s-flag-on-screens-idUSKBN1HE0MH

 

(Reuters) - Hackers have attacked networks in a number of countries including data centres in Iran where they left the image of a U.S. flag on screens along with a warning "Don't mess with our elections", the Iranian IT ministry said on Saturday.

"The attack apparently affected 200,000 router switches across the world in a widespread attack, including 3,500 switches in our country," the Communication and Information Technology Ministry said in a statement carried by Iran's official news agency IRNA.

The statement said the attack, which hit internet service providers and cut off web access for subscribers, was made possible by a vulnerability in routers from Cisco (CSCO.O) which had earlier issued a warning and provided a patch that some firms had failed to install over the Iranian new year holiday.

Cisco did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A blog published on Thursday by Nick Biasini, a threat researcher at Cisco's Talos Security Intelligence and Research Group, said: "Several incidents in multiple countries, including some specifically targeting critical infrastructure, have involved the misuse of the Smart Install protocol...

"As a result, we are taking an active stance, and are urging customers, again, of the elevated risk and available remediation paths."

Iran's IT Minister Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi posted a picture of a computer screen on Twitter with the image of the U.S. flag and the hackers' message. He said it was not yet clear who had carried out the attack.

Azari-Jahromi said the attack mainly affected Europe, India and the United States, state television reported.

"Some 55,000 devices were affected in the United States and 14,000 in China, and Iran's share of affected devices was 2 percent," Azari-Jahromi was quoted as saying.

In a tweet, Azari-Jahromi said the state computer emergency response body MAHER had shown "weaknesses in providing information to (affected) companies" after the attack which was detected late on Friday in Iran. 

Hadi Sajadi, deputy head of the state-run Information Technology Organisation of Iran, said the attack was neutralised within hours and no data was lost.

 

 

Edited April 8, 2018 by Hugo Stiglitz

[FondrenRoad 4378]

That's like how the NCAA gives the death penalty to Southwestern Birmingham College because the coach gave a kid a quarter to call his mom from a pay phone while they don't do anything at all to Auburn when Cam gets a house and a 6 figure paycheck.

[Hugo Stiglitz 23356]

Word on the street is the hackers went after Russia too.

https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/a3yn38/election-hacking-vigilante-russia-iran-cisco

 

Edited April 8, 2018 by Hugo Stiglitz

[Sawbonz 27392]

We know it wasn’t tj hooker