6-22-19

Iran warns US the region could be ‘set on fire,’ vows to defend its borders

Tehran threatens American forces and regional allies, says it will firmly confront aggression, as tensions continue to spiral.

Iran on Saturday vowed that it would stand firm against any threats to its borders, and issued a warning to the US and its allies in the region, after US President Donald Trump said the military was “cocked and loaded” to strike against Tehran for downing a US drone on Thursday.

“Firing one bullet towards Iran will set fire to the interests of America and its allies” in the region, armed forces general staff spokesman Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi told the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

“If the enemy — especially America and its allies in the region — make the military mistake of shooting the powder keg on which America’s interests lie, the region will be set on fire,” Shekarchi warned.

“Regardless of any decision they make… we will not allow any of Iran’s borders to be violated. Iran will firmly confront any aggression or threat by America,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said.

Also on Saturday Iran said its airspace was secure and safe to fly through, according to Reuters.

“Iran-controlled airspace over the Persian Gulf and other flight routes are completely safe,” said Iran Civil Aviation Organization spokesperson Reza Jafarzadeh.

On Friday, some of the world’s leading carriers including British Airways, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Germany’s Lufthansa and Dutch carrier KLM suspended flights over the Strait of Hormuz.

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Iranian hackers step up cyber efforts, impersonate email from president’s office

Cybersecurity firms see surge in attempts to gain access to American government agencies, oil and gas sectors

WASHINGTON (AP) — Iran has increased its offensive cyberattacks against the US government and critical infrastructure as tensions have grown between the two nations, cybersecurity firms say.

In recent weeks, hackers believed to be working for the Iranian government have targeted US government agencies, as well as sectors of the economy, including oil and gas, sending waves of spear-phishing emails, according to representatives of cybersecurity companies CrowdStrike and FireEye, which regularly track such activity.

It was not known if any of the hackers managed to gain access to the targeted networks with the emails, which typically mimic legitimate emails but contain malicious software.

The cyber offensive is the latest chapter in the US and Iran’s ongoing cyber operations targeting the other, with this recent sharp increase in attacks occurring after the Trump administration imposed sanctions on the Iranian #petrochemical sector this month.

Tensions have escalated since the US withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran last year and began a policy of “maximum pressure.” Iran has since been hit by multiple rounds of sanctions. Tensions spiked this past week after Iran shot down an unmanned US drone — an incident that nearly led to a US military strike against Iran on Thursday evening.

“Both sides are desperate to know what the other side is thinking,” said John Hultquist, director of intelligence analysis at FireEye. “You can absolutely expect the regime to be leveraging every tool they have available to reduce the uncertainty about what’s going to happen next, about what the US’s next move will be.”

CrowdStrike shared images of the spear-phishing emails with The AP.

One such email that was confirmed by FireEye appeared to come from the Executive Office of the President and seemed to be trying to recruit people for an economic adviser position. Another email was more generic and appeared to include details on updating Microsoft Outlook’s global address book.

The Iranian actor involved in the cyberattack, dubbed “Refined Kitten” by CrowdStrike, has for years targeted the US energy and defense sectors, as well as allies such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, said Adam Meyers, vice president of intelligence at CrowdStrike.

The National Security Agency would not address discuss Iranian cyber actions specifically but said in a statement to The Associated Press on Friday that “there have been serious issues with malicious Iranian cyber actions in the past.”

“In these times of heightened tensions, it is appropriate for everyone to be alert to signs of Iranian aggression in cyberspace and ensure appropriate defenses are in place,” the NSA said.

Iran has long targeted the US oil and gas sectors and other critical infrastructure, but those efforts dropped significantly after the nuclear agreement was signed. After President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the deal in May 2018, cyber experts said they have seen an increase in Iranian hacking efforts.

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The Times of Israel

#POLITICS #geopolitical #war #prophecy #rumorsofwar #iran #russia #middleeast #shtf #prep #cyberwar #spy

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