Iranian Cyberthreat To U.S. A Growing Concern

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.darkreading.com/advanced-threats/167901091/security/vulnerabilities/232901039/iranian-cyberthreat-to-u-s-a-growing-concern.html

By Kelly Jackson Higgins
Dark Reading
April 26, 2012

Iran isn't at the top of the list of cyberthreats to the U.S. today, but 
the bad news is that the Iranian government has the intent and 
motivation to become a major threat -- and appears to be shifting from 
defense to offense, according to expert testimony today on Capitol Hill.

"The good news is that if you rack and stack the greatest cyberthreats 
to the U.S., Iran is not at the top of the list. But the bad news is 
what they lack in capability, they make up for in intent," said Frank 
Cilluffo, associate vice president and director of the Homeland Security 
Policy Institute at George Washington University, in remarks before a 
joint subcommittee hearing of the House Committee on Homeland Security. 
"Given Iran's history of [deploying] proxies, they would have little, if 
any, reason to hesitate to use proxies to engage."

And cyberattacks basically allow for a less-technologically advanced 
nation also under economic sanctions, such as Iran, to strike on a more 
level playing field, according to Cilluffo and other experts in the 
joint hearing of the House Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure 
Protection, and Security Technologies and the House Subcommittee on 
Counterterrorism and Intelligence.

"This symmetry gives small groups a disproportionate impact," and they 
can buy or rent the cyberattack resources, Cilluffo said.

[...]


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