U.S. officials believe Iran is behind recent cyberattacks
By Mike Mount, with reporting from Suzanne Kelly and Pam Benson
The United States believes that Iran is behind cyberattacks on American banks and the oil industry in the Middle East, officials said.
Although officials have not made such an assertion publicly, they have characterized the attacks that occurred in recent months as initiated by a "state actor." The U.S. intelligence apparatus observed and tracked the attacks as coming out of Iran, a third official said Monday. The official would not describe further what was observed but said the belief is the perpetrators were surrogates working with the Iranian government.
“We strongly believe there is a relationship between the people typing the code and people running the government,” according to the official.
"It certainly is the case that Iran is improving its capabilities in the cyber field. We're paying attention. We are concerned about their increasing ability to operate in this realm," a U.S. intelligence official said.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta noted the attacks in a speech last week and warned that United States must beef up its cyber defenses or risk a potentially devastating strike.
Calling it a "pre-9/11 moment," Panetta said he is particularly worried about a significant escalation of attacks and highlighted a cyber virus known as "Shamoon." The virus infected the computers of major energy firms in Saudi Arabia and Qatar this past summer.
In Saudi Arabia, more than 30,000 computers were rendered useless by the attack on the state oil company ARAMCO. Ras Gas was affected in Qatar.
Panetta said the attacks were probably the most devastating to ever hit the private sector.
Iran denied any involvement in the attack on the oil industry, according to a report broadcast Monday on PRESS TV, a government-run news agency.
"One of the main aims of the United States is to make itself look like the victim," said Mehdi Ahkavan Bahabadi, the director of the Iran Cyberspace Center.
The report noted Iran itself has been the victim of numerous online assaults, including Stuxnet, a complex cyberattack against its nuclear program believed to have been created by American and Israeli programmers.
Panetta's speech also covered recent attacks against large U.S. banks, which hit with unprecedented speed and disrupting services to customers.
While the attacks did not do any significant damage or result in any financial losses, it caught the attention of U.S. intelligence, according to officials.
Officials said they have not heard any talk with in the government regarding a possible retaliatory strike for the cyber attack on the banking system.
Panetta did not publicly say Iran was behind both attacks but sources say that is what U.S. officials believe.
The New York Times reported that while there seems to be no real evidence that the cyber attacks were sanctioned by the Iranian government,
U.S. officials have begun to focus their suspicion on a recently created Iranian military unit called "cybercorps."
The unit was developed in response to American and Israeli cyberattacks on the Iranian nuclear enrichment plant at Natanz.
@natlsecuritycnn on Twitter
I disagree with the statement "While the attacks did not do any significant damage or result in any financial losses, it caught the attention of U.S. intelligence, according to officials." Obviously they don't run a small business.
I tried logging on to the Wells Fargo site several times a day. I have a business to run. I need to know my balance, make copies of checks, pay bills, track transactions, etc. The mobile phone site didn't work, either. So yes, I didn't buy materials, or get much banking done for almost a week. It was under-reported on the actual length of the outage as well. I have 5 banks that I check twice a day or more, and two of them were down for almost a week, with intermittent access toward the end of the next week. In a month we'll find out what really happened, as usual.
I sent my taxes out today, which pays the salaries of these ninkumpoops, enough for several of them actually. Please buy some better computers and hire some smarter people. I bet they could recruit better people right out of high school than the career civil servants who grew up using slide rules and have no idea how much technology has changed. You're competing with Facebook and Google for programmers, and overseas workers. Hopefully national security computing/programming work isn't outsourced as well.
Don't worry Iran, you Muslim brother. O BUM MA, will forgive and protect you!!!
Ed, you are so witty and clever. Your parents must be proud. In fact, you make your country proud. What a zing, zing, ZINGER!
WHY DOES IRAN HATE OUR PACKETS OF FREEDOM?
i would like to invite the iranians to our country but im afriad they would choke on our sweet air of freedom
Irans so nasty. Always be makin cyberworms. Always be bombin other peoples nations. Put a nukular bomb n there a$$is and light da fuse.
Allah Wack Ballz to that!
HAHA NUKE BOMBS WITH FUSES...BRILLZ MA MAN, BRILLZ
I fear that the next attack by Iran will be a coordinated effort of all those stinky, unbathed iranians raising their arms at a predetermined time and attacking us with their foul body odor. I'm not sure that anybody could ever survive that foul stench.
Israel is far more likely the culprit. This is the way they operate. Create false flag attacks so their fifth column in the U.S. government can whip the masses of asses into a war frenzy.
Allah Wack Bulls***.
Slave of the ZOG, you ain't too bright or you have fallen in love with a camel!
Iran: Why always me?
Lets get it over with and wipe these Arabs back to the day of Darius and Zerkzis, sick of Iran, if they get a nuke bomb along with N Korea Russia and dont sleep on Hong Kong, if they all catch up to us tech wise, that will be a tough and long war. We cant even beat muslims with rocks and sticks in Afganastan, never mind a nuclear capable satanic alliance against the US and our allies. Pre emptive strike, set them back 2000 years
you are a truly eloquent and thoughtful person, i think it is possible you could become the next president. please apply for the job.
At least he has a foreign policy
Allah Wack Balls of Fire.
2000 years isn't far enough. Send them back where all they can do is grunt and use the same cave they live in now!
only would someone mutter such stupidity in Murika!
Idiot, educate thyself. 2,000 years ago the Persian Empire was far more peaceful and advanced than America has ever been.
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/08/iran-archaeology/del-giudice-text/1
Also, Persians are NOT ARABIC!
Maybe more sanctions will make them stop
Chief!~ Sanctions don't bother Cromagnumskulls!!!
LESS QQ more PEW PEW...
No matter what party you claim to belong to, this is scary on so many levels. Iran is pushing the boundaries of what they can get away with, and its not going to stop. As we keep catching these attacks after the fact we are setting ourselves up for a major catastrophe. When will we learn to be proactive instead of reactive? Iran will push us into a war if we don't cut off the head of the snake. It's not the most diplomatic approach, but diplomacy isn't really in Irans vocabulary.
You should do a little research outside of the U.S. for real information. We are demonizing a country so we can go to war with them... It's propaganda! Not to say the government of Iran is innocent, but this is propaganda.
Careful, there are a lot of inbred low-IQ republican warmongers here. Facts and logic are like kryptonite to them.
" Iran will push us into a war"
Thanks, I needed a laugh!!
I think it's actually a lot scarier than that. This is a paving stone on the path to war with Iran. Whether or not there is any truth to this, and regardless of how big the threat really is, when the US govt releases these kind of statements they are invariably building the case for war. Anyone who can't see that we are slowly destroying this country through military aggression is absolutely blind. Does anyone here really believe that Iran poses a direct threat to our national security? (Not the security of US multinational corporations, but OUR collective security as a people.) If you do, you have allowed yourself to become brainwashed.
Was the kaiser a threat? Or the nazis? Or the rising sun? Or a handful of cave men half way around the world? Yes I believe that the Persians could harm us. They have shown tremendous determination in their efforts to dominate the region and crush the opposition inside their country. History has shown that the US is not immune from external threats, as much as we may wish it. That doesn't mean we should make war on 75 million Persians. But their efforts to acquire WMD need to be opposed.
Aren't you Dems tired of apologizing
Dem's don't apologize... That requires thinks, evaluation and making a rational decision...
Ed speak and think like smart Republican. Good boy Ed
hmmm so countries can going into their systems and screw them up, but the reverse is not allowed. brilliant.
No matter... Israel will go in and do some 'housecleaning'.
Iran's population is pretty on edge right now, currency riots being the latest wave of discontent. why do we need to spend our cash for something thats liable to fix itself? We let the North Koreans develop a bomb, and despite them actually being at War with south Korea (unlike Iran and Israel/US) seoul remains to this day.
The people who wag the finger at countries nuclear weapons development with illusions of instant mushroom clouds fail to realize the only nation to use nuclear weapons aggressively was the United States. The only solution is end nuclear proliferation all together, get rid of western and eastern nuclear weapons and set an example. Otherwise you fall flat into "do as i say, not as i do."
Anybody with a brain would notice that America is the enemy to all nations. Just more propaganda to make Iran look like the bad guys. Do your research and homework people.
Thank You!! I should add people should look up Amber Lyon, she did a podcast with Joe Rogan recently. She worked for CNN and knows from the inside how corrupt our own media is.
She didn't want to play CNN's game so the big wigs canned her ...
Iran is full of cowards and terrorists. You should go join them.
It's idiots like yourself that feed the propaganda.
You mean the land of the free home of the brave ? Iran the 4th largest energy producer in the world. The country that burns off natural gas to get to oil. The country who wants to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. Who are you kidding.
I believe us conseratives have about/around 3,000 people from the twin towers that agree with Americans, not idiots or Muslims!!!
We fought in Iraq to increase Haliburton's profits, and now we're supposed to fight in Iran as revenge for attacks against... Bank of America?!? Sorry, I can't work myself up over this. We'll see what their next move is.
That's like saying Obama wants higher unemployment so that more people can co-miserate together.
please explain your logic. i dont see that inference at all. but i just have degrees in math and computer science and computer engineering, so i could be wrong
This is hilarious, the media and the government want us to believe this? It's already been widely known that hackers inside the US did this.
Agreed!
They don't want it to appear that the lower middle class America is gaining power so they blame it on Iran lol ..
I've seen countless videos of U.S. soldiers in the cyber defense department using BackTrack 5. Shame that America has to use Chinese junk to defend ourselves from this too.
Lets point the finger at the one Country the US is dying to go to war with. We, as US Citizens can't feed in to this type of propoganda. I've seen to many cases where the US uses brain washing tactics in order to sway the real reason or hidden agenda's they have in mind to control our Nation. I'm no one to speak politics of another country or how they abuse and neglect there own people, but I will always question the motives of those that are in power since we have no real insight on what there real reasoning is behind making everything public to its citizens using the media. Just maybe it is to affect our thought process so when the time comes and the bombs are dropped it seems like a righteous cause. Just my opinion, nothing more nothing less..
The sad part is, that when it's time to go to war it's always the poor uneducated kids that fill the recruiting offices .. This is why the war machine will never die...
Oh yes, were just dieing to go to war with Iran! GTH, moron!
If not then why bother?
Any REAL facts to support this Mel Gibson?
I would ask the US for real facts, but sadly they would not be able to give any except IP addresses, which can be spoofed.
Don't know or care but if subject bankers are sure that this is a bankers problem then let those bankers stick their BUTTS into the fray and fight your own battles.We Americans will do our share when it is OUR Country problem.
Attacks committed against the USA by Iran: 0
Attacks commited against the USA by Israel: 1 (USS Liberty)
I call BS on this article. The US is just looking to justify its next war of aggression!!!
Tehran 1979 ring a bell? Embassies are considered soil of the country they represent.
The Liberty? 45 years ago and deemed an accident by both governments AND Israel paid reparations to all the victims.
yes, we should get some vengence for those VERY recent attacks....the anger still seethes in me from when i was a toddler.
USS Vincennes (CG-49) – Sound familiar?
On 3 July 1988, the Vincennes fired two missiles and shot down an Iran Air Airbus A300 civilian airliner over Iranian airspace in the Strait of Hormuz, killing all 290 passengers and crew on board. Note "civilian airliner" and "Iranian airspace".
The Vincennes was in Iranian waters.
If I were family or friend of one of those victims, I would hate America, especially when the crew received awards and medals over the "incident".
Cyber war is an invisible but double edged sword. It is proxy war, as we can't send attack helicopters to take them out becauseit it is happening. We can only retaliate in kind, and the problem is our home front is absolutely, openly vulnerable: we simply cannot put a shield across the entire economic infrastructure without spending a cool trillion dollars+, and still it won't cover it.
This genie is out of the bottle, and all we can expect is a real cyber MAD (mutually assured destruction). Sorry for ending it in such a high note, but that is a very plausible outcome.
Eric, I would like to answer your comment with an affirmative, YES WE CAN put an end to this cyber warfare. Okay, you ask how? it is put in place a rules of engament, putting on notice anyone who does this these will be the from hostile nations, it is sever consequences. We unleash hell, creating a shut down of their entire internet platform systems. Hire the best hackers in this country and give the the goal to develop a highly sophicated Trogan horse systems that will be unleashed if and when it is proven that a country has done cyer warfare on us. Unleash hell to those who wish to use this. This can be done with a commitment to create hell in the cyber world.
sorry but the best the US could do is turn their DNS servers off and their routers....which doesnt shut the internet down.
THANKS TRY AGAIN
And USA you are innocent of all the world's crimes. Just as the Iraqis, Afghanis, Somalis..oh, they are terrorist because you say so.
They hate our freedom! hahahaha
REMEMBER THE MAINE!!!
It may take a while, but it will be sooooo sweet when China and Russia kick the USs a **
It already happened, have you looked at the value of the dollar lately ?
Really. You think that would be sweet. Well guess what. It will NEVER happen. Who would buy Chinese products if they do the US harm in any way. The Chinese government makes way to much money off the US to ever overtly try and do us harm. And remember, we may not have the most people but our military is second to NONE. They wouldn't risk what we would bring down on them. And Russia no longer exists.
So I guess this is our 'reward' for being soft on Iran? – – THANKS OBAMA !!!
Our President's little strategy of 'drones and cyberattacks' comes around to bit him in the butt...Leadership at its worst.
I'm sure you'd be the first in line at the recruitment office when the war starts, right you fuccking dink?
So Obama gets no credit for killing OBL but all the blame for Iranian hacking? Congratulations – Your logic just became a joke.
He's a tea bagger. It's easy to have a skewed, nonsensical view of the world when you "dun got none of dat fancy yanky book lernin" like these ldiots.
i bet you even blame Obama for your erectile dysfunction
um do your homework moron, the main reason Iran is moving ahead with its plans, is because one Sudam Hussein is not in the picture.....hes the one whom Iran feared the most......he kept them in check....I do believe one George W Bush eliminated him from the picture....so be careful whom you blame!
Nice unbiased reporting. First you say Stuxnet is believed to have been created by US and Israel, but then end the article implying that they did in fact do it. Have some integrity in your reporting and stick to calling speculation as speculation.
Like the WMD that Icrack never had...but sure enough hepled big time to get us involved in a trillion $ mess.
Or am I thinking about the Gulf of Tonkin. N. Viet Nam 1968. Times flies when you're pay'n for useless wars.
The article is unbiased indeed. "The report noted Iran itself has been the victim of numerous online assaults, including Stuxnet, a complex cyberattack against its nuclear program believed to have been created by American and Israeli programmers." Where did the article imply that Iranians themselves had done that?
Where is the proof that some US official said about a link to Iran?
Where is the name and an official statement?
Such statements affect public opinion tremendously, and should be backed up with facts.
Otherwise, it's just a neocon propaganda. And we know what such propaganda led to in 2003...
Can I please not pay for you fake anti-terror wars please?
Face it, it's all propaganda ... Most any info we get now days is nothing but propaganda .
The best part of it all is "We will hunt down and kill those responsible."
Neocon propaganda? On a super-liberal news site? Do you think about what u type before u do it, or did u just copy and past from the liberal online handbook? If ignorance is bliss you must be the happiest guy on the planet.
I asked for facts that proved that a US official had made a connection to Iran.
I implied I didn't believe that the report was true, because such facts weren't provided or referenced.
I also suggested that it was a propaganda by neocon agenda (this one is trivial).
What's your problem?
Iran can kiss my data bit.
"The United States believes that Iran is behind cyberattacks on American banks and the oil industry in the Middle East, officials said."
two seconds later..."Although officials have not made such an assertion publicly"
Wow CNN the amount of speculation, innuendo, and questionable sourcing in your reporting is beyond reproach.
Well that's where the poor and the middle class has little to worry about. Good luck with that, rich folks.
One day we wake up and their is chaos because we didn't prepare ourselves against these pieces of sh**
The people who you call sh** run all your Space programs and most advance medical equipment in the world. 5000 years of history doesnt just go away... Suck it lol We attacked them they responded hehe
Its more like a D**k measuring contest at this point lol
Face it, we are at war on many levels with Islam and those who hate the West! I think Isreal should nuke Iran and claim Iran for their own and take the oil and share it with the USA for being and ally with Isreal. What do you think?
I think you're a nutjob.
What a great comment by Jim... It amazes me how undereveloped this guys way of thinking is.
Nuke 'em. Just stop yappin' and nuke 'em. You want to be a foreign policy biggie, you pathetic excuse for a President? Nuke 'em.
You're a total idiot, stop making America look like its full of nothing but retarded hill billies ..
Yeah. Nuke 'em. That won't upset anyone.
It blows my mind how ignorant people can be.
Look up "Megaphone desktop tool" Israeli special interest groups (agents of a foreign power) coordinate their efforts to post on U.S. message boards in an attempt to influence popular perceptions
Look up travistock... we have been doing it for 60 years ..
Didn't the US use a virus to attack them not long ago? What do you expect them to do? Not retaliate?
You are truly an idiot; do you realize that?
My statement was rhetorical by the way "Bob Ray." Any how calm your wife beater, it's fairly common knowledge the US did.
we did, however I still doubt the attack was from Iran ... I wouldn't be surprised if it was from our own cyber warfare unit..
Come on geladeous, you kinow the US is the only one that can mess with and subvert governments.
I wonder if this is the "e-quivalent" of a false flag attack.
If it is Iran or China etc then why can't we cut off Iran's or China's access to our internet. Why do we have to attack them back. And why did the FBI claim to be shutting down people's computers in the USA recently.
what a bunch of bs. we do not have to worry about any attack until an anti-muslim film is shown on you-tube
Yeah thats it.........just wait for a "free" speech video trailer.........wait 4 months.........and voila!
you are special there mr lib.
Sarcasm noted.
It must be Iran because the white has has dismantled al-Qaeda right? Vote Romney/Ryan, at least the LSM will check things out on them.
Anything to divert attention from the "President Obama lied to the people of the United States about the assassination of our US Ambassador in Libya" story. Anything to reelect President Teleprompter....
Really? Facts please!
Regan does blow Tea baggers in the alley but then he can't recall.
Absolutely! But I would add that if Romney or Bush were in, it would be the SAME strategy. When are people going to finally realize that the US is being run by offshore mega banks, not politicians?
They are all President Teleprompters, naive one. They are all pawns. You think they make the decisions about war? Get your head outta your ass. All of you. Left and right, liberal vs. conservative. It's all BS.
Yes, anything to forget the lies Bush told in order to start the Iraq war and the war in Afghanistan. Anything to forget the fact that after several years of being unsuccessful in finding bin laden, Bush said on national television: "bin Laden? I don't care about bin Laden." That was a direct quote, in case you're wondering. Keep blowing smoke, dude.
I haven't came across any skilled Iran hackers. Pakistani hacker groups on the other hand...
All of this "chatter" from the WH about Iran doin this n that...............while spewing we need to "negotiate"..........liberal confusion is in the "lead" wooowho!
frikin nut bags
another Barely Literate heard from. I know you are not making over 250k, so your "conservative" ideology is like a badge of Mo ron.
"another Barely Literate heard from." That's ironic.
The US needs another 9-11. Just so ignorant and stupid.
Fish needs to be castrated to spare the world his mentally retarded spawn.
The US attacks Iran's computers in their nuclear facilities, and now is complaining because Iran supposedly has done the same thing to them?
If you can't take a punch, you shouldn't be throwing any.
Hey, the US is the number one threat to world peace. They can f ** k with other countries all they want, but can't take it themselves. They'll get theirs big time, just wait and see.
"They'll get theirs big time, just wait and see." Sounds like a sissy's power fantasy.
This is hopeless .... Your "argument" is so conflated with emotionalism! Right, pierrepoint1, because we acted to degrade Iran's ability to develop nuclear weapons, we ought to accept, or be more "understanding," of their cyber-attacks. After all, we wouldn't want to be "hypocrites." Read some of the posts below if you care to learn something.
Your argument is even more conflated. What do you mean by "we acted"? Did we send flowers? An unemotional argument would be that we should not be overly surprised with Iranian response. It does not mean that we should not be prepared and defend ourselves.
Leon Panetta did not complain, he warned the public about the state of affairs in the realm of cybersecurity.
i really doubt that Iran would conduct cyber attacks on american company's while they have an armed military and maybe nuclear capability, its like a man with a shotgun running up and kicking a general in his balls in front of his soldiers. it make no sens at all why Iran would do that especially since its a free market in america so if a company goes under it does not affect the government really at all. this is all malarkey.
You and Biden would get along. Just kidding of course, but do take in consideration that America is having its intellectual property drained from its computers by China and we have done absolutely nothing about it. Such weakness only emboldens dictatorships like Iran. What have they got to lose? Nothing, but they gain real credibility if they pull off damage to us and we do nothing in response, which is our history at the moment.
Harin...you have NO idea what you're spewing from your fox talking point mouth. You honestly want anyone to believe the US isn't involved in cyber attacks themselves, let alone "Not doing anything about" China's attacks? Put the Conservative Koolaid down and get the foil hat off your head. More fear mongoring from the Con..men
The leaders in the Iranian government are not exactly the sharpest tools in the shed. Logical thinking doesn't occur very often in the Middle East.
Sure they are...... That was the biggest laugh I had all day...
Probably ripped off the source code from those Nigerian Lottery Scammers...
seem to me someone hacked into IRAN"S system and screwed with some centrifuges some time ago this was a good thing.
We have to except they can play the game also, so let"s not be surprised .
No one's "surprised" that Iran would do such a thing, Mark. The point is that we must be prepared for such attacks so that we can prevent them from succeeding when they happen.
Hit em back even harder. Iran needs to know who invented the PC.
Argo F-k yourself!
Ok you american clowns. back away from this proxy war.
Imagine a glass landscape that glows at night for a thousand years...Iran or Iran's enemies? Your choice!
Of course it is Iran, if it weren't Iran then the spin merchants would certainly say it was. After all, they are the enemy de jour. Last week it was Iraq, tomorrow it may be China, who knows? If Iran did these horrible things, and I am not saying they did not, is anyone considering that it might have happened because we hit them first. What is the evidence, and I mean detailed evidence. We might even want to know in what way, where, when, how, why they did. Hell is in the details. We might want to know what else transpired that was related to our apparent belief system that Iranians are our enemies. Why are they our enemies, and I don't mean the spin "about" why they are our enemies. It is going to take an immense amount of evidence to convince me that big bad America is the sad trackless victim the government wants to convince us we are. WE create our own reality.
Have you listened to the words of Iran's leaders?
Look how Iran, Iraq, and China treat their own citizens.
Iran is self imploding anyway.
So is the US, A little more slowly mind you.
The Defense Intelligence Agency tried to stage an accident designed to kill a former contractor employee who knew embarrassing information about their possible involvement in 9/11.
The contractor did not attend the lantern festival but the D.I.A. sponsored operation resulted in 37 people that drowned or where crushed to death.
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200402/06/eng20040206_134042.shtml
That former contractor employee is me.
They also have been using their DEA "proxy force" to harass the contractor employee and try to set him up as a patsi for the crime.
It is my theory that Chinese Intelligence are funding operations in the U.S. for retribution purposes. They are using corrupt law enforcement to encourage gun ownership and push suspects over the edge.
WOW, whatever you are smoking, it must be good. Wewere wondering if you would post a few more times so our drones can get a good lock on you. Smile.....
So the U.S. and Israel attempted to forestall the development of nuclear weapons in a nation who's primary religion believes it needs to create hell on earth so that their prophet can return. Shame on us for not fighting "fair" and using cyber attacks.
Wow....See what AL Gore did when he invented the internet.
The US, Israel and others European countries have done the same to Iran, so why all of a sudden we are such a holy nation.
This has nothing to do with our being "holy," Cohen. It has to do with national INTERESTS, plain and simple. They have their interests and we have ours. That's how the real world works, Cohen, so grow up and face reality.
I guess then pastorcal we should keep our destructive viruses in our own pc's. Otherwise, we have virtually no right to whine like schoolgirls.
No, Robert, if it's in our national interest to use them, we ought to use them, while preventing Iran from using theirs. You're having trouble with this concept, aren't you? Do you imagine that this has anything to do with being "fair"?
Hear hear! Agreed! Liked! You are a voice of reason...except when I don't agree with you...:-)
You hit it RIGHT on the head pastorcal. I mean spot on! It has virtually nothing to do with 'fair'. So why the shock when we get what we sow?
I am not so sure that it is in anybody's national interest to embark on another arms race. We went that path with nuclear weapons and spent almost half a century on a brink of nuclear holocaust.
When American physicists began developing nuclear weapons it was not even known whether such weapons are possible. By having them developed, tested and demonstrated US showed the Russians that such weapons are possible and by that achievement itself helped them develop their own nukes.
The Stuxnet virus was vastly more advanced than anything hackers had developed before and using it to attack Iran was a cyber-Hiroshima sort of event. It may have achieved its tactical goals, but overall was a short-sighted action. Not only has it demonstrated the possibilities, the "bomb" itself has been made available to everybody.
Totally agreed Cohen. If we listen to our right wingnuts and our masters of the defense industrial-intelligence establishment, the U.S. is the innocent victim of horrors of all degrees. We did to them, now they do to us and we whine like babies. Get the kcuf over it!
Yours is a childlike misunderstanding of international relations, Robert. You do have something better to do than vote next month, don't you? Just stay home and watch your favorite liberal "news" program on television and leave the voting to me.
Like the US does not use Cyber Warfare...
It was Romneys Mormon Magical skidmarked underwear........
You and Bill Maher use the same writer? Did you give Obama a million?
Hidden behind the Iranian Ayatollahs, Mullahs, and Imams is the powerful money class. They run Iran and Islam is just a facade to subjugate the masses to obedience. Jews will soon return to Iran along with their doctors, lawyers and businessmen. The Iranian elite will be outbid and go bankrupt, but they realize a new golden era of Jewry is coming and is unstoppable.
Do not under estimate the intelligence in Iran. There are thousands of Iranian scientists and engineers living in the U.S. of A. And they are good, really good. Don't believe me ? Look up only 3 of them in wikipedia.com. They are Firouz Naderi , Anousheh Ansari , Pierre Omidyar. Now which I got your attention, these folks are not even half as intelligent as the engineers and scientists living in Iran.
Lets not forget that Russia, China, and North Korea are behind Iran.
Iranian intelligence? Oh lord, that's funny.
Thanks, did look up the names,
Firouz Naderi (head of the Mars Exploration Program)
Anousheh Ansari (Looks like she has already been in Mars)
Pierre Omidyar (I knew this one, use his site a lot)
How about making the Middle East a Nuclear free zone? Of course both Israel and the US would never do it.
How about you not swallowing so many hot loads of HIV-infected semen? You're obviously spunk drunk.
I didn't know recess was over. Very classy.
You're one to talk about class, you dirty little parasite!
OK you won. I can't keep up with your intelligent, articulate arguments.
No, Fish, you can't keep up with me. People who try to hide their weak arguments behind "nuance" are just poseurs.
Yeah, how dare you hide behind nuance!
Yeah, come out from behind that nuance or... Pastorcal will call you a really bad name! I've noticed he likes to do that as he is...wait for it...a web warrior. Hiiiiiiya!
How about we make the WHOLE WORLD Violence Free. I suppose the islamist and Taliban will not be able to stone women, shoot 14 year old children, or behead 17 people anymore.
Fish you are a Dweeb! and you are welcome for the insult.
Well, all I can say it what goes around comes around. In another thirty or forty years the USA won't be the most powerful militarily. Something to think about.
i remember Obama telling all of his drones that he was going to sit down with Iran and work out all of the issues, whatever happened to that meeting?
US Officials: Sadam has WMD
Stop drinking the bong water, "Fish."
You want another war? What, kill another few hundred thousand? Didn't learn your lesson in Iraq? They have not even made the decision to go for a bomb. And if they got it they would not pose a serious threat to Israel or anyone else. I say containment. They are rational actors and are not going to commit national suicide.
Maybe you need a few bombs dropped on your family.
No, I'd rather drop bombs on your extended family in Iran, "Fish." It's not a question of if we attack Iran, but when.
And being the good American you are I suppose you're proud of that. Well, the American empire is in decline., You're broke. Enjoy the slide.
I am wish Fish even though I am an American, another war where people will lose their lives over other's "power", I wish we all can just get along, until we can get rid of monetary value it will never happen
Wow. Who knew that Commodore 64's could be used in such a way?
I don't believe a word of this. Americans will wake up during the Iran war when gasoline is $12.00 a gallon. Americans are clueless- turn American Idol back on!
They "believe" Iran is behind cyber attacks.........children "believe" in Santa Claus
Children also "believe" the sun will rise in the east
More US propaganda softening up the masses for war.
Yeah, dude! It's like, the corporations and stuff ... they're exploiting the masses! Power to the people, man! We need to "just say no" to the the military-industrial complex, man! Hey, can you spare some change?
Reblogged this on World Chaos.
So, just out of curiosity, what do you libs think would happen if we and/or Israel fail to destroy Iran's nuke facilities? Do you imagine that at some point harsh words and economic sanctions will result in their abandoning their nuke program? And if they were allowed to develop nukes, what then would be your response? "Well, we can't do anything now without starting a nuclear war, so let's just keep 'negotiating'"? Thank goodness the abomination in the White House is about to be voted out of office. Enough of Obama's monkeyshines!
Try not subverting governments, and overthrowing democratic governments and maybe your country will have more friends. Why do they want nukes? It's the only way the USA will leave a country alone.
Answer the question, dweeb.
Thanks for the insult. I did–you are just unable to read a nuanced answer.
You tell us Mr. American, since your country is the only one to have dropped nukes on a civilian population, Oh high and mighty ones!!!
You too, John: answer the question.
Please tell us what country you live in. We have a big present for you.
Well, Mr. John. What country are you in? Let me track your IP addr. Got it. Coordinates being programmed as we speak. Have a nice day, you future little glow stick 🙂
We've shown that we have the will to stop countries that would rule the world by violence or subversion, twice in the previous century. How many times this century? TBD...
Obama will be reelected.
Ummmm sooo....your logic is....let's kill every single one of them there Iranians before they kill us. Them be barbarians so lets wipe them out!!!! We deserve to live so they should die!!!!! Moron.
You mean like the way George W. Bush stood up to North Korea over their nuclear program? Oh wait, he did no such thing.....
pastorcal...should Iran have a legitimate fear of a nuclear armed USA (not to mention Israel)?
Ummm...yes.
pastorcal77 Too bad you let your hatred of our president cloud your judgement from time to time. Obama is the only one with a strong enough foreign policy to deal with Iran and other potential rogue states. He has the will and the way, and has proved it...crippling sanctions against Iran, bin Laden is sitting in hell going 'what the uckf', 9/11 conspirators are being tried, half of the leadership of al Queda is dead, the remainder is on the run or hunkered down.
Romney is going to do what? Pray in his magical underwear for Bain Capital to come to the rescue? Ryan is going to flex his muscles?
Don't be a fool..don't let your fear of the black man cloud your judgement.
I am not a lib, but if "we and/or Israel fail to destroy Iran's nuke facilities" Iran will have nuclear power plants. That's the only sure thing. Everything else is a matter of speculation. If I were in their shoes I would be developing the bomb day and night, but I am not in their shoes. Besides, using nukes is completely different matter. India and Pakistan have nukes, – never used them in anger. I don't think that Iranians are more stupid than any of those two.
Sure, all we need is your neo-con friends to start another trillion dollar war. It's so tiring to hear from people like you, Mr. "Pastor" who have absolutely zero idea about the true costs of war and the incredible risks and complexity that the suggested "War with Iran" would entail. True neocons want to provide billions to their military-industrial-complex business partners...war, any war, is an incredibly profitably way to line their pockets. Wanna-be neocons like yourself unwittingly support their cause with this type of foolish rhetoric. We finally have sensible leadership, and we have time for crushing sanctions to work.
Probably some teenager in Iran messing around.
Devastating attack? No damage? what is true? The viruses manufactured
Lets drill under their oil fields and drain them dry.
This is probably ISRAEL – not IRAN'S – doing. See Veterans Today site – last weeks they mentioned that Israel would probably stage a False Flag to get their Iran war.....
also see youtube - CIA Asset Susan Lindauer Can Now Speak 10 years after 9-11.
yeah, bush gang did it. note silverstein (israel mossad) connection. Again, more on Veterans Today.
I doubt it Israel...
israel? what an idiot. iran needs to be wiped from the planet
If Israel were gone tomorrow it would be a great day for humanity and there would be peace in the ME
CIA
Argo Fk Yourself
Yeah, it was the Elders of Zion. In between killing babies and drinking their blood, they were staging DDOA attacks on the US.
.....the "big kids" on the block need to start getting along before they drag the rest of us into this garbage.
My My... how far we've come from Iran's flying boats of just 2 years ago.
What is wrong the two follwoing quotes from this article?
"Panetta said the attacks were probably the most devastating to ever hit the private sector."
"While the attacks did not do any significant damage or result in any financial losses, it caught the attention of U.S. intelligence, according to officials."
Well...which is it? I didn't notice any blips in my life due to these attacks. Is Leon exaggerating?
Sid
Sid, Panetta was referring to the attacks to the private sector oil industries in the Middle East, not to the banking system here in the US.
Panetta should have said 'the most devesatating attacks except for the ones we unleashed on them'...
Both are true. It is the biggest attack and still no damage. All that happens is people learn that if you have an MS Windows based computer you either need to watch it carefully or replace it with something else.
He was referring to the attack on Saudi Arabia's energy sector...not the one that recently targeted US banks.
Our CFO noted that the finance department was unable to access our bank accounts due to a massive DDOA attack. It lasted long enough to affect our ability to do business. So yes, it was real.
Is Iran trying to push the buttons on the US and Israel ??
This article mentions nothing about stuxnet. A widely known computer "virus" known to be developed by the U.S. and Israel. Probably the most advanced virus developed in the modern world. A brief intro of stuxnet and what happened to the Iranian centrifuges would probably have been a nice preface to this article. The purpose of news is to shed light on both ends of the spectrum right?
It is just stupid to not have all central controlls totally secure and seperate from Internet. Most energy companies do that as a security precaution..I know one that does not do that and I am boggled at the Stupidity.
The attacks cvome in stages, sometimes many stages. Reach a point where you control PCs connected to the internet, and then move laterally within the organization to attack the central controls.
It's amazing the resources nation states put into APT's. In some China-sponsored attacks, they watched the parking lots of the targets for signs of heavy activity outside of normal business hours. If they saw that, they knew they had been discovered..
Stuxnet was introduced via a thumb drive. Then it moved horizontally through Iran's infrastructure. There is more than one vector, it's not always the internet.
Note paragraph 11:
"The report noted Iran itself has been the victim of numerous online assaults, including Stuxnet, a complex cyberattack against its nuclear program believed to have been created by American and Israeli programmers."
I believe that Obama should try to appease the Iranians by offering himself to them as a nigra slave. There, in the splendor of his master's mansion, Obama will dance like a monkey for bits of banana and watermelon. On special occasions, he'll put a plate in his lower lip and perform a Kenyan tribal war dance while exclaiming: "I am King Obama. BWAHHAHA!"
knew it wouldn't take long pastorcal...finally showed your true intelligence level.
I take back everything I ever said that agreed with you. You are a racist pig.
Pastorcal77 is none other than Pastor Cal Thompson of Cavalry Way Church in Uriah, California.
If you don't believe me, check for yourself. Click on his username in this comments page. It brings you to a blog, on which one of the two comments on the about page is by a Cal Thompson. Click the Cal Thompson name there. It brings you to a website for Cavalry Way Church. Click "About," then "Meet our Pastors." The first pastor listed is Mr. Cal Thompson - aka, pastorcal77. I'll be notifying his local paper of this!
Here go the right-wing thugs in Washington trying to scare us again! This never seems to end! It was we who started this stupid cyber war in the first place and now we're in a fine mess!
I run a network and can assure you that the cyber-war has been raging since Clinton's time.
Maybe even since Alan Turing's time.
I can buy Iran being behind the attacks in the region but the attacks on the banks are more China's style.
Then why doesn't the US kick them off the Internet? We DO own the world wide web ya know?.
Duhhhhh.
Unleash wiki leaks and the rest of the hackers....oh wait, we already did that.....their turn! And China and North AND South Korea haven't done this? What dream world do you believe in?
Yeah Obama leads from behind alright....from behind the control panel of a drone. We have been through so many Al Quida #2's I have stopped counting.
Rather that put thousands of American lives and not get anyone
Drone attacks are of mixed utility. They kill people but don't provide much in the way of intelligence.
You can't waterboard a corpse and find out what he knows. Once he's dead, if you are mistaken, he's still dead.
ANYONE that was associated with waterboarding should be brought up on charges.
Shoddy and incomplete reporting by CNN. It has been widely reported that the US and Israel created the Stuxnet worm that was used against Iran to cripple their nuclear development program.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/stuxnet-was-work-of-us-and-israeli-experts-officials-say/2012/06/01/gJQAlnEy6U_story.html
Sinple answer SHUT THE INTERNET DOWN!! We'd all be better off
So someone in Iran knows how to use a computer, but for ten years now they've been telling us that Iran wants a nuclear weapon. How is it that they can launch these sort of cyber attacks, but can't figure out how to build a bomb in ten years? Apparently they aren't stupid. Do we just need a reason for another war?
It's not likely that you'll be involved one way or the other
Very well written comment. It seems as though you are right. I never completely believe what ur Government says and especially cnn's habit of fabricating stories.
so what is the U.S. gonna do about it? NOTTA as long as Obama n thugs are in office...Just like Libya NOTTA but sit back and say,oh we had no clue what is going on...!!!
Actually let's go to war! i mean, we can afford it right?!
Cheney and Company started wars that they couldn’t finish. Obama on the other hand got Bin Laden … you MORON!
Obama watched it on TruTV. Even his own intel people don't trust him.
You live by the sword; you die by the sword. We started this whole sordid mode of cyberwarfare, and now the chickens are coming home to roost!
And why do we let them even connect to the internet? They should be isolated.
Ya donkey – if they werent connected to the internet then how would we cyber attack them?
All the more reason for America to attack Iran NOW!!! The sooner we elect Romney, the sooner Iran will no longer be a threat to the entire world!
Your truly an idiot and must believe everything you read. Your comment shows your incompetence. War is more or less a Game now a days in which immensly saddens me. You need to use your common sense with these topics and also research other news sources and utilize your brain.
Magical Underpants to the rescue! Let's outsource them to death! Move those hacker jobs and nuclear scientist jobs to China, and then invest in the Chinese outsourcing company.
And then complain about how we are not being tough enough on China. OK, Magical Underpants has got this one figured out, we'll outsource those outsourced jobs from China to ... uhhh what is the next cheapest dictatorship using child labor and oppressing it's workforce? Myanmar? OK, got this one...and so it goes.
I call BS on this story. I think it was our own intel agencies doing it. They own everyones networks. Who says they aren't using Iran as a proxy to hurt the US????
Ya, who sez? Dis smell likes a craka conspirasy!!!!!!!
I think Samantha Johnson smokes a little to much crack!!
the question is, what are the "officials" going to do about it.
Iran is not smart enough to hack an iphone.i think the hackers are just young fat guys on their mom's basement stealing money, or just having fun.
Iranians are highly educated, and a lot of Russians and Chinese work for them.
Sounds more something like you would find in America. With our education system floundering, it will not be long before third-world countries can hack our systems.
They are desperate for an excuse to go to war with Iran. Meanwhile, it's well known China has hacked the living crap out of us, even penetrating our electrical grids. And what is the response? Absolutely nothing!
Not to worry. When Obama has time in his campaign schedule, he will address the problem with his normal lead from behind vigor.
yeah right
And let the games begin!
Just let Anonymous handle Iran.
Based on their claims of previous actions, it's more likely that Anon would side with anti-capitalist factions than support the US war on terror.
So, I'm driving down a road one day in Iran and I see this guy with his entire arm up the back end of a camel... So I yell out the window... "Hey, car trouble?" ziiiiing 🙂
Soooo the Iranians have struck back. Surprise surprise, they know how to use computers AND ride camels. Americans need to understand that we do not rule the world or live in a vacuum.
they don't ride camels in iran
Yeah idiot. they don't ride camels
no, they just use them for their personal pleasure when there are not enough young boys around.
What are we waiting for? Go now, GET TO DA CHOPPA!
What do you expect, US and Israel cyber attack a country and we are shocked when they retaliate? then we should not attack other countries until we can protect our selves from such attacks at home.
We were the first to engage in cyber terrorist attacks against Iran. This is the chickens coming home to roost.
Johnny,
looks like we are on the same page
yeah, but they deserved it