Issued on: 09/09/2022 – 17:51
The US on Friday announced sanctions against Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security and its minister Esmail Khatib after it was found that Tehran was behind an unprecedented cyber attack on NATO ally Albania.
According to the Albanian government, Iran carried out the attack on July 15, with the aim of crippling public services and accessing data and communications in government systems.
The US said the intelligence ministry was behind the attack, which Tirana said was largely unsuccessful and caused no lasting damage.
“Iran’s cyberattack on Albania ignores the standards of responsible peacetime behavior by states in cyberspace, including a standard of not damaging critical infrastructure that provides services to the public,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury Brian Nelson.
The Treasury Department said the ministry runs several cyberespionage, hacking and ransomware networks.
The Ministry of Finance selected an active Iranian group called “MuddyWater” that it claims has been conducting cyber campaigns since 2018, exploiting vulnerabilities in foreign networks to steal sensitive data and deploy ransomware.
MuddyWater carried out an ongoing cyber attack on Turkish government agencies late last year.
In addition to targeting infrastructure, the Iranian hackers were blamed for leaking government documents in Tirana and personal information about certain Albanians.
Albania cut diplomatic ties with Tehran over the cyber attack on Wednesday.
“We will not tolerate Iran’s increasingly aggressive cyber activities targeting the United States or our allies and partners,” Nelson said in a statement.
The sanctions are designed to freeze any assets that could be designated under US jurisdiction and to prohibit US individuals or companies – including international banks with US operations – from doing business with them, a movement aimed at and blocking their access to global financial networks.
(AFP)