Iranian hackers are suspected of orchestrating an “unprecedented scale” of cyber attacks targeting Middle Eastern governments in the last two years, a study has found.
Californian-based FireEye Intelligence said a wave of DNS hijacking had affected dozens of government servers, telecommunications and internet companies across the Middle East and North Africa, Europe and North America.
The practice involves the use of malicious software to access sensitive information and data. Hacked aim to harvest and store usernames and passwords.
FireEye said it had “moderate confidence” of Iranian involvement in espionage following two years of studying malicious cyber attacks between January 2017 and January 2019.
The firm said it could not be certain as to whether hackers were state-funded or private individuals.
“We haven’t identified specific groups”, said Muks Hirani, co-author of the study and Technical Director at FireEye.
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The security firm added that confidential data accessed by Iranian hackers could help Iran on the political stage in future, in light of sanctions by the US and the European Union.
“In terms of geopolitical relationships, activities and data harvested would be of great interest to Iran, such as the repositioning of sanctions and gaining a foothold in the future”, said Alister Shepherd, Middle East and Africa Director at FireEye.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
The Pope's itinerary
Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial
Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
The%20specs
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JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
Directed by: Shaka King
Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Lakeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons
Four stars