US on high alert for cyber-attack retaliation from Iran
Iran has pledged to take revenge for the assassination of Qassem Soleimani last week
The US has warned of a new wave of Iran-backed cyber attacks following the killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike last week.
Iran has pledged to take a "harsh revenge" over the assassination of its top commander, marking the most serious escalation between the two countries in recent years.
Now, cyber security experts have warned that Iranian groups are almost certain to launch a new series of cyber attacks on critical IT systems in the US - and possibly allied countries, too. Potential targets include oil and gas plants, transit systems, manufacturing facilities, healthcare, logistics and military facilities.
In a tweet, Christopher Krebs, director of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) urged organisations to ensure that their industrial control infrastructure and other critical systems are fully patched and updated.
On Saturday, a website operated by the US Federal Depository Library Programme (FDLP) was hacked and taken offline by a group claiming to be linked to Iran.
Hackers defaced the home page of fdlp.gov and left pro-Iranian and anti-US messages on the website.
"In the name of god. >>>>> Hacked By Iran Cyber Security Group HackerS ... ;) < < < < < . This is only small part of Iran's cyber ability! We're always ready," a message left by hackers on the website read.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement that it was aware of the attack on the FDLP website, but added that there was no evidence to confirm that it was the action of Iranian state-sponsored groups.
About a decade ago, US and Israel agencies reportedly crafted the Stuxnet computer worm to ruin about 1,000 centrifuges at a nuclear facility in Iran. Following those attacks, Iran disconnected most of its infrastructure from the internet.
In response to those attacks, Iran-backed hackers also launched a series of disruptive attacks in 2012 and 2013 against major US banks, NASDAQ and the New York Stock exchange, costing them tens of millions of dollars.
Two years later, hackers resurfaced with attacks on the servers of Sands Casino in Las Vegas, disrupting gambling and hotel operations.
Last June, the US launched a series of cyber attacks against Iran to disable computer systems controlling the country's rocket and missile launchers.
The attacks were carried out with the approval of President Trump and followed on from the shooting down of a US surveillance drone, as well as attacks on oil tankers in the Persian Gulf, which the US claimed were masterminded from Iran.
Following the shooting down of the drone, President Trump ordered air strikes on Iran, but backed down at the eleventh hour, saying that such an action would not be "proportionate", given the likely civilian casualties involved.
Trump also pledged to impose new sanctions on the country at that time.