When Iranian-born German academic Erfan Kasraie received an email from The Wall ...
WASHINGTON - When Iranian-born German academic Erfan Kasraie received an email from The Wall Street Journal requesting an interview, he sensed something was amiss.
The phony request was in reality an attempt to break into Kasraie’s email account. The incident is part of a wider effort to impersonate journalists in hacking attempts that three cybersecurity firms said they have tied to the Iranian government, which rejected the claim. The incidents come to light at a time when the U.S. government has warned of Iranian cyber threats in the wake of the U.S. air strike that killed Iran’s second most powerful official, Major-General Qassem Soleimani.
Sarbakhshian - who fled the Islamic Republic amid a crackdown that saw the arrest of several fellow photojournalists in 2009 - was also targeted with an email that claimed to be from Fassihi. The message asked him to sign a contract to sell some of his pictures to The Wall Street Journal. Sarbakhshian said in an interview that he was suspicious of the message and didn’t respond.
U.S. officials and cybersecurity experts see Iran as a digital threat. Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation issued alerts about the threat of Iranian cyberattacks following the controversial U.S. attack that killed Soleimani. Microsoft, which tracks attempts to undermine election security, in October accused Charming Kitten of targeting a U.S.
Other impersonated journalists included CNN national security analyst Samantha Vinograd, whose identity was stolen in August and used in attempts to break into email accounts in Israel, ClearSky said. Another was Michael Hartlep, a Berlin-based videojournalist who has done freelance assignments for Deutsche Welle and Reuters. ClearSky found his name on an email inviting recipients to a bogus Deutsche Welle webinar on Iran’s role in the Middle East.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Iran to execute alleged spy who gave nuclear secrets to CIAIran said Tuesday that its top court confirmed a death sentence for an Iranian man convicted of spying for the CIA, with state media alleging that he had shared details of the Islamic Republic's nuclear program with the American spy agency.
Read more »
Iran to execute alleged spy who gave nuclear secrets to CIAIran says its top court has confirmed a death sentence for an Iranian man convicted of spying for the CIA. A judiciary spokesman identified the alleged spy as Amir Rahimpour and said he would be executed soon.
Read more »
Iran to execute man who allegedly spied for CIAState media alleged purported spy had shared details of the Islamic Republic's nuclear program.
Read more »
Iran to execute man for spying for CIA: judiciaryA man sentenced to death in Iran for spying for the CIA and attempting to pass o...
Read more »
Iran Plans to Quickly Execute Alleged CIA SpyIran said it would soon execute an Iranian citizen for allegedly giving details about the country’s nuclear program to the U.S., after arresting more than a dozen people last year on charges of spying for America
Read more »