How Iran could retaliate against the US with cyberattacks
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has warned that Iran might use 'low-level cyber attacks' as one way to respond to attacks launched against its nuclear facilities over the weekend.
The national terrorism bulletin issued on Sunday said there is no current threat against the US that has been identified but that there is the 'possibility' of threats to the US in the form of 'possible cyberattacks, acts of violence, and antisemitic hate crimes," Kristi Noem, the Secretary of Homeland Security said in a statement.
The US Department of National Intelligence (DNI) considers Iran's cyber operations to be a 'major threat to the security of US networks and data,' according to a report published in March this year.
But if Iran were to retaliate against the US with cyberattacks what would be the impact?
Breaches of US government bodies, emails possible
State-sponsored Iranian groups and hacktivists regularly target 'poorly secured US networks and Internet-connected devices for disruptive cyber attacks,' according to the DHS report. The US, among other countries, has designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist group since2019.
The Iranians are credited with launching attacks against 'critical infrastructure sectors' such as transportation, healthcare and the public health sector, according to the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA).
Hackers sponsored by the Iranian government are credited with hacking a US-based children's hospital, a dam in New York and compromising the vulnerabilities of a Pennsylvania water authority and others across the US.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said Iranian-backed actors were also linked to a series of 46 denial of service (DDoS) attacks against major American banks in 2012, such as American Express and Wells Fargo, that locked customers out of their accounts.
Some institutions are already getting ready for increased Iranian cyber attacks, such as the US Food and Agriculture Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Food and Ag-ISAC) and the Information Technology - Information Sharing and Analysis Center (IT-ISAC).
Both organisations released a joint statement on June 13, warning companies to prepare for 'the likelihood of increased cyber attacks from Iran targeting US companies'.
Iranian state actor groups have also been accused by CISA of using 'brute force such as password spraying and multifactor authentication 'push bombing,'' with multiple phone notifications, to gain access to US organisations through programs like Microsoft 365, Azure and Citrix systems.
Some of the information gathered in previous Iranian cyber attacks against US government bodies has been sold on cybercriminal forums 'to actors who may use the information… for additional malicious activity,' a 2024 CISA alert reads.
Iranian actors have also infiltrated email accounts of key government officials, the DNI threat report said. Most recently, Iranian actors breached the email of a President Donald Trump staffer on the 2024 election campaign and sent a 'targeted spear-phishing email' to his employees. The group then 'tried to manipulate journalists into leaking information' that they had gathered from the campaign, according to the report.
Iranian state actors have also in the past stolen information from American aerospace and satellite companies (in 2020) and universities ( in 2018).
The role of hactivists
The US-based cybersecurity firm Radware identified 100 new activist groups that sprang up in the last week since Iran's June 13 retaliation against Israel. Some of these groups, the firm said, have threatened to attack the US.
Radware reported on June 18 that a group called Mr. Hamza teamed up with DieNet and other hacktivists groups to target the US 'if it joins the war against Iran'.
Mr. Hamza claimed in a June 22 post on Telegram that it had launched attacks against various branches of the US Air Force, including the department's training platform, mission operational capabilities, and its cloud computing program. The group is also claiming to have attacked several US defence companies, such as RTX, Sierra Nevada Corporation and Aurora Flight Sciences, a Boeing subsidiary.
Euronews Next is trying to independently verify these claims.
DieNet said on its Telegram channel that it would attack again using data breaches, big [DDoS attacks] against critical infrastructure and ransomware.
Radware believes that DieNet is a new group that emerged in 2025 but has already claimed 61 attacks against 19 US organisations between March 11 and 17 this year, including one that amassed a 'huge amount of data' from the International Trade Administration and the US Department of Commerce.
'DieNet's campaigns are unmistakably political,' a Radware alert from March reads. 'They openly blame… Trump for fueling their motivation, claiming their cyber offensives are acts of retaliation against US military interventions'.
Iran has a 'considerable number' of state-sponsored threat groups that have targeted Israel in the past, such as Muddy Water, APT35 (OilRig), APT35 (Charming Kitten) and APT39 (Remix Kitten), the Radware report added.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
LeMonde
an hour ago
- LeMonde
Iran attacks US military base in Qatar
Iran launched a missile attack Monday, June 23, on US military bases in Qatar and Iraq, retaliating for the American bombing of its nuclear sites and escalating tensions in the volatile region. Iran announced on state television that it had attacked American forces stationed at Qatar's Al Udeid Air Base. A caption on screen called it "a mighty and successful response" to "America's aggression" as martial music played. Qatar said it had successfully intercepted the attack. It came shortly after Qatar closed its airspace as a precaution amid threats from Iran. Iran also targeted the Ain al-Assad base housing US troops in western Iraq, an Iraqi security official told The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly. Just before the explosions, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on the social platform X: "We neither initiated the war nor seeking it. But we will not leave invasion to the great Iran without answer." In the past, Iran has threatened American forces at Al Udeid Air Base, which hosts the forward headquarters of the US military's Central Command. Qatar, across the Persian Gulf from Iran, maintains diplomatic relations with Iran and shares a massive offshore natural gas field with Tehran. Earlier in the day, Israel expanded its war against Iran to include targets associated with the country's struggling theocracy, striking the gate of a Tehran prison notorious for holding political activists and hitting the headquarters of the military force that suppressed recent protests. As plumes of thick smoke rose over Tehran, Israel was attacked with yet another barrage of Iranian missiles and drones. The persistent fire has become a reality for civilians in both countries since Israel started the war to target Tehran's rapidly advancing nuclear program.
France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
Images and eyewitness accounts from Tehran's Evin Prison after an Israeli strike
It was around 1:30pm in Tehran on Monday when reports emerged of an explosion at Evin Prison, in the north of the Iranian capital. Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar quickly posted video footage showing a prison door hit by a missile. The video was widely shared on social media, and while Saar did not specify the source of the video, other images from Tehran confirmed the strike. According to Iranian media, the attack not only struck the prison's main entrance but also damaged a prosecutor's office and two courts within Evin, one known as 'Kachouyi' in the northern part of the complex and another known as 'Moghaddasi' in the southern part. The two courts are well-known for prosecuting protesters and dissidents, and the prison is notorious for imprisoning thousands of Iranians, including protesters from the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement, university students, women activists, opposition figures, and artists. The explosions were so powerful that they reportedly shattered windows in sections 7 and 8 of the north wing of the prison. The FRANCE 24 Observers team geolocated these two videos. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz labelled Monday's attack as part of an 'unprecedented wave of strikes targeting key components of the Iranian regime, including internal repression facilities in the heart of the capital'. In addition to common criminals, Evin Prison is home to many political prisoners, including Narges Mohammad, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2025, as well as foreign detainees. 'All the windows are shattered' Abolfazl Ghadyani, a prominent critic of the Islamic regime who is incarcerated in Evin, described the aftermath of the attack in a phone call with his son. "All the windows are shattered, and the prison hospital is partially damaged," Ghadyani's son said his father told him. Ahmad Ghadyani added: "Does the Islamic Republic intend to keep all these political prisoners in custody? Many of them are ill, what kind of madness and villainy is this?" According to a former political prisoner with connections inside the prison, the women's ward of Evin Prison was severely damaged, but no prisoners in the ward were seriously injured. In addition to the prison, Katz's office said that Israeli jets also targeted regime-affiliated installations in Tehran, including the Basij headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), internal security command centres, and the symbolic 'Countdown to Israel's Destruction' clock in Palestine Square, according to Ynet News.
France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
Will Russia benefit from the Israel-Iran war?
Hours after the US launched strikes on Iranian nuclear sites early Sunday morning, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced that he would hold 'serious consultations' with key ally Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin on Monday. "In this new dangerous situation ... our consultations with Russia can certainly be of great importance," Russian state media reported Araghchi as saying after landing in the Moscow on Sunday night. As the two men met face to face, Putin condemned the "absolutely unprovoked aggression against Iran" from the US and said that Russia was "making efforts to provide assistance to the Iranian people". But even as the Kremlin denounces the attacks on its long-term strategic ally, a continued conflict brings potential opportunities for Russia. Iran announced on Sunday it would close the Strait of Hormuz, a water passage on Iran's south coast through which around one-fifth of the world oil trade passes. Doing so is likely to send global oil prices soaring, giving a boost to Moscow's sanctions-hit economy. But most importantly for Russia, while the US – and the world – has their eyes trained on Israel and Iran, Putin's war in Ukraine has slipped down the agenda. The United States becoming embroiled in a prolonged conflict could also have a material impact on Ukraine's future defence capabilities. US President Donald Trump has not clarified whether he intends to continue attacks on Iran. But supporting Israel in the long term may well mean that 'the US will have to provide Israel with missiles, air defence and interceptors ', said the International Crisis Group's senior Russia analyst, Oleg Ignatov. 'That means these will not go to Ukraine and, of course, that is in Russia's interest.' There are also the moral implications of the US joining an attack on Iran under the shaky legal pretext that it was a pre-emptive act of self-defence – the same justification that Western leaders have denounced Putin as using for invading Ukraine in 2022. In the longer term, if the US becomes involved in another 'unwinnable Middle East war, then that actually hastens America's decline that President Putin has now been predicting for years', said Kadri Liik, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations and an expert on Russia. 'Performative diplomacy' The deputy chair of Russia's Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, on Sunday even hinted at an Iranian nuclear retaliation against the United States, backed by Russia. Trump had 'pushed the US into a new war' in which 'a number of countries' were ready to 'directly supply Iran with their own nuclear warheads', he wrote on social media. But such a step seems unlikely. While Iran has supported Russia's war in Ukraine by providing drones and other military equipment, so far the Kremlin has offered no military help to Iran – despite a sweeping strategic partnership agreement signed just months ago in which the two countries agreed to help each other counter common "security threats". As long as Russia's military resources are concentrated in Ukraine, Putin seems to have little appetite for conflict in Israel and Iran and has pitched himself as an informal peace broker – while rejecting the possibility of acting as an official mediator. "We are simply suggesting ideas … if they turn out to be attractive to both sides, we will only be happy," he said when discussing the conflict at an economic forum in Saint Petersburg on Friday. Realistically, the Russian leader holds little influence over outcomes in Israel or Iran. 'Russia is not strong enough to shape the new order emerging in the Middle East, and maybe not best positioned to gain from it,' said Liik. But that doesn't mean he won't try. 'Putin is very tactical, and he will try to make gains from the situation,' Ignatov said. One best-case scenario for Russia is a short-term conflict in which the Kremlin offers what limited military defence it can currently provide to Iran in exchange for a pledge from Tehran to avoid striking US bases in its proximity. Such an arrangement would both increase Iran's reliance on Russia and ward off the risk of a spat with the US. 'Russia can say it doesn't want escalation, but it is ready to help Iran and defend itself. That seems logical,' Ignatov said. It would also be an extension of what Liik calls Putin's policy of 'performative diplomacy' towards the United States while he pursues his own goals in Ukraine. 'Russia pretends to be helpful, it pretends to be engaged in diplomatic processes … while not actually giving in an inch on their maximalist demands and playing for time,' she said.
