Bitcoin ransom: Iran-backed hacker demands 80 BTC from Israeli university

A politically motivated attack – The Islamic Republic ofIran and the state from israel have been fighting each other for years in a sort of modern cold war. There is nothing frontal, but multiple Provocation or attempts to destabilization have taken place on both sides since the Islamic revolution in Tehran in 1979. Today, this latent conflict is moving into the digital field with cyber attacks coming from Iranian groups, more or less linked to power, who seek to harm the structures of the Jewish state. Direction Haifa in the northwest of the country for the latest attack.

An Israeli university victim of a ransomware attack…

The story begins atInstitute of Technology from Haifa (nicknamed Technion) when, last February, the administrative services received a funny message from a group calling itself DarkBit. These hackers claim to have stole all university data and threaten to put them up for sale within five days unless 80 bitcoins are paid in exchange.

The attack in question forces the establishment to to delay a number of examinations and close temporarily its computer services. At the time of the facts, everyone wonders what this unknown group of the intelligence services is. Pay the 1.7 million of dollars seems irrelevant, but the group’s identity and capacity for harm raise questions. Is it a group of pro-Palestinian activists or a disgruntled employee?

>> 10% reduction on your trading fees? Sign up on Binance (commercial link) <<

… remotely controlled from Iran for eminently political reasons

Finally, in a announcement recently, Israel’s National Cybersecurity Directorate cleared up doubts and put a name to the origin of the hackers: theIran. More specifically, it is the group MuddyWater whom the Americans have already identified as linked to the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security. This entity is regularly in the sights of the American and British authorities within the framework of various attacks against governmental organizations or private companies. Telecommunications, energy, defense and public administrations are their preferred targets.

According to local authorities, the motives of the group seem more policies that financialbecause the message sent to the university was openly anti-Israeli. It was about denouncing “apartheid, lies and state war crimes”which makes the investigators say that greed was not necessarily the first motivation.

THE ransomware, or ransomware, has unfortunately become a relatively common tool in the arsenal of all the powers of the world. According to Israeli defense experts, dozens of such attacks take place in the country each year. Indeed, there are a lot of groups that work for their own account and are only looking for money. But the North Koreathere Russia or even theIran happily use this type of attack in the digital war that is being played out behind our screens.

Hacks are unfortunate hazards, but not inevitable. Need peace of mind for your cryptos? Register quickly on the Binance platformTHE gold standard in the industry, and save 10% on your trading fees by following this link (trade link).