US and Israel Expose Iranian Hackers' Attempts to Target Surveillance Cameras and the Olympics
Cotton Sandstorm, Marnanbridge, and Haywire Kitten are cyber threat groups that the FBI has been keeping an eye on since 2020. The organisation is most often known as Emennet Pasargad, which most recently changed its name to Aria Sepehr Ayandehsazan .
The FBI has been keeping an eye on a cyber threat group called Cotton Sandstorm, Marnanbridge, and Haywire Kitten since 2020. The group is more commonly known as Emennet Pasargad, which most recently changed its name to Aria Sepehr Ayandehsazan (ASA). Although ASA is officially focused on cybersecurity in Iran, it is actually a cover for finance and human resources operations and is accused of conducting cyber operations against the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.
The latest joint advisory by the FBI, U.S. Department of Treasury, and Israel’s National Cyber Directorate reveals ASA’s updated tactics and influence operations, including the use of its own hosting providers, Server-Speed and VPS-Agent, to manage its infrastructure and support Hamas-affiliated sites. Investigations indicate ASA contacted family members of Israeli hostages from the October 2023 Hamas attack, intending to cause psychological distress
Additional operations include hacking a U.S. IPTV streaming company to spread propaganda, targeting Israeli IP cameras for unauthorized access, and compromising a French digital display provider in July 2024 to display anti-Israeli messaging ahead of the Summer Olympics. ASA also utilizes AI tools, including ChatGPT, to generate manipulated images and plan attacks on industrial control systems.
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