Israel-Iran cyber attacks could ‘spill over’: cyber firm
Iran has urged Australia and other western nations to condemn Israel’s ‘act of crime and breaches of international war’, issuing a warning for ‘external players’ to stay out of the conflict.
Iran has warned Australia and other western nations not to interfere in the conflict in the Middle East, declaring it would not hesitate to conduct a “more crushing” attack against Israel should it need to.
The comments come as analysis shows a “real chance” of cyber attacks targeting Israeli technologies affecting downstream organisations, including in Australia.
Iran’s ambassador to Australia, Ahmad Sadeghi, said his nation had taken “necessary measures” to punish Israel for its air strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus earlier this month by launching a series of missiles and drones into Israeli territory on Saturday.
Mr Sadeghi declared that should Israel make any other moves against Iran, his nation’s response would be “more crushing” and would “give a more unforgettable lesson to this heinous regime”.
“Iran (calls) upon the US and other external players to stay away from this conflict in order to prevent the spill over (of) tension across the region,” Mr Sadeghi said in a statement.
Analysis by leading cyber security firm CyberCX found the direct military conflict between Israel and Iran in April had “materially increased the cyber risk to organisations globally”.
“If Iran-Israel military conflict escalates further, the likelihood that organisations in third- party countries will be directly targeted may also increase,” CyberCX said in an intelligence update.
“There is a real chance – 40 to 55 per cent – that destructive or disruptive supply-chain attacks targeting Israeli technologies could impact downstream organisations globally.
“It is likely – 55 to 80 per cent – that direct Iran-Israel military conflict has increased the risk that ideologically motivated threat actors will target organisations both in the region and in third-party countries that condemn actions taken by Iran and/or Israel.”
Anthony Albanese condemned Iran’s air attacks on Israel as a “grave threat to the security of Israel and the entire region” over the weekend, and urged for no further escalation of violence.
Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said on Tuesday Australia “should be looking at how stronger action can be taken against Iran, including the listing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation”.
CyberCX analysis of Telegram channels found 51 per cent were motivated by the Hamas-Israel war, compared to less than 20 per cent for the Russia-Ukraine war.
“However, we note that some pro-Russia groups have engaged on issues related to both wars. This includes groups like Anonymous Sudan, which conducts attacks in support of both Russia and Hamas and has Russian state affiliations,” the intelligence update said.
Cyber attacks in the conflict region are expected to intensify, according to CyberCX.
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