Iranians Hacked 50 Targets in 16 Nations

Iranian hackers have been identified as the source of coordinated attacks against more than 50 targets in 16 countries, many of them corporate and government entities that manage critical energy, transportation, and medical services. Over two years, according to Cylance, a California security firm, Iranian hackers stole confidential data from a long list of targets and, in some cases, infiltrated victims’ computer networks to such an extent that they could take over, manipulate, or easily destroy data on those machines. Cylance called the attacks “Operation Cleaver” because the word cleaver frequently appeared in the attackers’ malicious code. The New York Times independently corroborated the firm’s findings with another security firm, CrowdStrike, which said it had been tracking the same group for the past nine months. Countries targeted by the hackers included the United States, Canada, Israel, India, Mexico, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and China.