We’ve heard time and again of hackers based in China allegedly launching cyberattacks against the U.S., however this time around, there appears to be a new contender. Relations between Iran and the U.S. aren’t too spectacular, that’s definitely no secret, so its not entirely impossible to believe that something like this can’t happen between the two. According to a new Wall Street Journal report, unclassified U.S. Navy computers were reportedly compromised by a group of hackers that are either “working directly for Iran’s government,” or they’re acting with the “approval” of Iran’s leaders.
U.S. officials who spoke to WSJ reveal that the attacks have occurred in recent weeks, they’ve not provided a concrete timeline. Furthermore, it is said that the computers that were compromised were low level, meaning that at no point during the alleged attack was any classified or valuable information under any kind of risk. The report also does not elaborate the nature of this attack and its level of sophistication, nor does it discuss the nature of its connection to Iran. Iran has been on the receiving end of cyberattacks such as Flame and Stuxnet, so its likely that U.S. officials might have anticipated a retaliation. According to one official, “their ability to also play in this sandbox compounds that concern,” the concern being that of a retaliation.
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