Every government entity is a target for cybercriminals and malicious state actors, even transportation agencies. The Iranian transport ministry was hit by a "cyber disruption" this week, causing ticket and cargo services to be disrupted. The full nature and culprit of these attacks has not been publicized. Security professionals suggest that other vulnerabilities exist and must be patched to avoid follow up ransomware attacks. Transportations disruptions due to cyber issues are not a uniquely Iranian problem; in April, the M.T.A was hit for a third time in several years. The agency did not suffer and loss of service but the attacks have been attributed to one of China's hacking groups. The reconnaissance of critical infrastructure by foreign cyber units is disturbing to say the least. Ransomware attacks cost billions of dollars, harm economies and have serious impacts but theses are all financially motivated. Foreign cyber units bookmarking vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure is something different entirely. The rules of cyberwarfare are unwritten and malicious actors become bolder each day.
sources:
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/cyber-attack-reported-on-iranian-government-website-673437
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-transport-ministry-hit-by-second-apparent-cyberattack-days-2021-07-10/
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/02/nyregion/mta-cyber-attack.html
No comments:
Post a Comment