U.S. officials said the rise in attacks appears to follow the arrest of Siamak Namazi, an Iranian-American businessman who has been pushing for stronger U.S.-Iranian economic and diplomatic ties, according to the report. Mr. Namazi was arrested while visiting relatives in Tehran, according to another WSJ report. A report from The Washington Post indicates it is unclear if Mr. Namazi faces charges or what authorities might allege he did.
IRGC hacked the email and social media accounts of some Obama administration officials, including people working at the State Department’s Office of Iranian Affairs and the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, according to WSJ.
Since the attack targeted some social media accounts, the number of people hackers could target grows exponentially. If a targeted person has 100 friends on social media, and all of those individuals have 100 more friends, the total number of those attacked could grow to 10,000 individuals, according to the report.
A spokesman at Iran’s United Nations mission in New York told WSJ Tehran has previously been falsely accused of conducting cyberwarfare, adding Iran has been the target of many cyberattacks.
More articles on cyberattacks:
Cyberattack on Oklahoma home health, hospice company impacts 4,500
President Obama to discuss cybersecurity with Chinese President Xi Jinping
Cybersecurity: No silver bullet for healthcare’s insider/outsider threats
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