DOJ says it shut down websites that threatened dissidents and took credit for hacks

The Justice Department says it has shuttered 4 websites that were allegedly utilized by Iranian government-linked groups to station hacked accusation and endanger authorities critics.

The determination comes amid fears that the U.S. and Israel's warfare with Iran could grow into cyberattacks. A quality bureau linked to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards has threatened American tech companies that they could beryllium targets, and 1 of the Iran-linked groups targeted by the Justice Department appeared to instrumentality credit for a hack connected a Michigan aesculapian exertion institution past week. 

Meanwhile, U.S. subject officials have said cyber operations helped to degrade Iran's communications successful the aboriginal hours of the war.

The websites that were unopen down by the Justice Department had names that corresponded to 3 antithetic alleged hacking groups: Handala, Homeland Justice and Karma Below. In tribunal papers, the FBI said each 3 groups are tally by Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security, and they usage similar tactics, including "custom-built malware."

The Justice Department says the 4 sites were utilized for Iranian government-sponsored "hacking and transnational repression schemes," and for "attempted intelligence operations targeting adversaries of the regime."

For example, the Handala sites were allegedly utilized to instrumentality recognition for "a destructive malware onslaught against a U.S.-based multinational aesculapian technologies firm." 

The Justice Department didn't place that firm, but past week, aesculapian exertion institution Stryker reported a cyberattack that caused "global disruption." Cybersecurity adept Brian Krebs wrote successful a blog station past week that Handala appeared to assertion work for the incident, which was ostensibly successful retaliation for a deadly bombing of a girls' schoolhouse successful Iran that early assessments accidental the U.S. whitethorn person been liable for.

Stryker said the hack was constricted to its interior Microsoft systems and did not impact immoderate of its products, including its aesculapian implants. CBS News has reached retired to the institution for comment.

Handala has besides allegedly utilized the seized websites successful caller weeks to instrumentality recognition for a hack against members of a Hasidic Jewish community, and to stock names and idiosyncratic accusation for Israel Defense Forces and Israeli authorities employees, the Justice Department said. At 1 point, the radical allegedly encouraged supporters of Iran to "respond" to the IDF personnel, the Justice Department said.

And Handala was accused of emailing decease threats earlier this period to Iranian dissidents and journalists, astatine slightest 1 of whom lived successful the United States, the Justice Department said. One alleged connection that was disclosed by the Justice Department claimed Handala was "partners" with the Mexico-based Jalisco New Generation Cartel and offered a $250,000 reward for the target's death.

One of the different shuttered websites was associated with Homeland Justice and was allegedly utilized to instrumentality recognition for a highly publicized 2022 hack against the Albanian government, the DOJ said.

The FBI said successful tribunal papers that arsenic portion of its investigation, an undercover cause bought a trove of stolen information from a typical of Homeland Justice, including Albanian ID cards that appeared related to the 2022 incident.

"Iran thought they could fell down fake websites and keyboard threats to terrorize Americans and soundlessness dissidents," FBI Director Kash Patel said successful a statement Thursday. "We took down 4 of their operation's pillars and we're not done."

U.S. authorities person long warned about the risk of Iranian state-sponsored hacking. And Iran has been linked to attempts to suppress dissidents successful the U.S. for years, including aggregate thwarted plots to kidnap oregon murder Iranian-American writer and authorities professional Masih Alinejad, a CBS News contributor.

But erstwhile Stryker was targeted successful a cyberattack past week, pursuing the commencement of the U.S.-Iran war, erstwhile Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Chris Krebs told CBS News it appeared that "the cyber beforehand of this struggle has officially opened."

Krebs, a CBS News contributor, said connected "CBS Mornings" past week that the enactment betwixt Handala and the Iranian authorities is "really blurry."

"It's astir an all-hands-on-deck attack by Iran," helium said. "So each of their groups, whether they're straight related to the military, the quality services oregon their proxies, contractors, hacktivists, sympathizers, immoderate you privation to telephone them — they're each going for targets."