Iran and China strengthen their cyber offensive against the United States

Chinese and Iranian pirates have recently renewed their cyberoffensives against whites in the United States, according to private experts and officials consulted by the newspaper The New York Times.

Cyber ​​attacks have been detected against dozens of Iranian banks, corporations, and government agencies in the United States, according to seven officials and badysts who remain anonymous, a boom that is believed It was strengthened by the departure of the 2015 nuclear deal ordered last year by President Donald Trump, which sparked escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran.

For their part, Chinese hackers have renewed its offensive to steal military and industrial secrets from military agencies and technology companiesaccording to nine intelligence agents, private investigators and lawyers, which in turn linked to the trade war waged since the beginning of 2018 by the United States

Many officials consulted belong to the National Security Agency, while most private reports come from the FireEye cybersecurity companyHe stressed New York weather.

In the case of the Iranian attacks, their dangerousness was such that they promoted a directive from the Ministry of National Security launched during the "closure", or the closure of the government occurred in January.

China and industrial espionage

Among the companies attacked by Chinese hackers in search of industrial secrets, we find Boeing, one of the world's leading manufacturers of commercial and military aircraft; General Electric Aviation, a leading supplier of aerospace parts and engines; and T-Mobile, a telecommunications company of German origin. It is unclear whether the attacks were successful.

The phenomenon of industrial cyber espionage, which includes the theft of secrets and patents and which then energizes Chinese industries, is a constant in the relations between Beijing and Washington, but The truth is that it had been drastically reduced under the government of the former President of the United States, Barack Obama.

Obama had even signed an agreement with Chinese President Xi Jinping to limit these acts of piracy.

But since Trump's arrival at the White House and the start of the trade war with China, a series of tariffs designed to protect American industries, the agreement seems to have been broken.

According to sources cited by New York Times, the situation seems to go back about five years and once again, hackers backed by the governments of China and Iran, as well as by Russia, They launch wave after wave of attacks with the intention of stealing information or just generating chaos.

The current difference is that attacks seem more sophisticatedas if the countries had taken advantage of the temporary cessation, which also included Russian activities because of the agreement between Obama and the then president, Dmitry Medvedev, to prepare for the eventuality from a surge of tension. And that seems to have happened.

Russia remains, in fact, the biggest threat in terms of volume and quality of cyberattacks, which are not limited to stealing secrets, but include the forced entry into the US strategic infrastructure networks, such as its nuclear power plants, as well as interference in the electoral process.

China, on the other hand, seems more focused on attacks motivated by commercial problems, hoping to boost their economies and development plans by stealing US technology and knowledge.

Adam Segal, director of the cyberspace program at the Council on Foreign Relations, told the New York Times that Chinese efforts are focused on "meet the demand of its five-year economic development plan". Although it was not excluded that the attacks also collect information for military reasons and in anticipation of a future conflict.

Chinese attacks are not limited to the United States, andThe European aircraft manufacturer Airbus and the Norwegian Internet company Visma have also been victims.

Iran and military objectives

The hackers linked to the Iranian regime, on the other hand, they seem motivated almost exclusively for military and strategic reasons and targeted government agencies and telecommunications companies, which serve as a gateway to thousands of businesses and agencies.

Persian attacks were also detected in 12 European countries and many sites in the Persian Gulf.

Specifically, the Iranians attacked whites in police forces, intelligence agencies and ministries. FireEye badysts say these targets indicate ""Clbadic spying campaign" and not the actions of a criminal group in search of income.

US authorities have taken the Persian threat seriously and sanctions have been imposed on two Iranian companies, New Horizon Organization and Net Peygard Samavat Company, dedicated to organizing events to collect information and recruit potential agents.