Iran recruits hacker army to attack US

Washington Times:

Iran is recruiting a hacker army to target the U.S. power grid, water systems and other vital infrastructure for cyberattack in a future confrontation with the United States, security specialists will warn Congress Thursday.

“Elements of the IRGC [Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps] have openly sought to pull hackers into the fold” of a religiously motivated cyberarmy, according to Frank J. Cilluffo, director of theHomeland Security Policy Institute at George Washington University.

Lawmakers from two House Homeland Security subcommittees will hold a joint hearing Thursday about the cyberthreat posed by Iran, as tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program continue at a high level, and a possible Israeli strike looms.

The Washington Times obtained advance copes of witnesses’ prepared testimony.

In his remarks, Mr. Cilluffo says that, in addition to the recruiting by the IGRC, another extremist militia, the Basij, “are paid to do cyber work on behalf of the regime, [and] provide much of the manpower for Iran’s cyber-operations.”

Both militias are believed to be under the control of Iran’s clerical leadership, headed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Hosseini Khamenei. Two Revolutionary Guard leaders have been indicted by U.S.prosecutors for their part in an alleged conspiracy to assassinateSaudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States by bombing a prominent Washington restaurant.

“Over the past three years, the Iranian regime has invested heavily in both defensive and offensive capabilities in cyberspace,” states testimony from Ilan Berman, vice president of the hawkish American Foreign Policy Council, in his remarks for Thursday’s hearing.

Estimates of the skill level of Iran’s hacker army vary, but Mr. Cilluffopoints out that there is a veritable “arms bazaar of cyberweapons” currently accessible through the Internet hacker underworld. 

“Adversaries do not need capabilities, just intent and cash,” he states.

... 

 Iran has had a lot of opportunities recently to test its own defensive measures since the Stuxnet attacks on its nuclear program and just this week it was reported the oil ministry was under cyber attack.  Iran is ruled by Islamic religious bigots who view the US as an obstacle to the world domination they seek.  They will do anything to pursue their objectives.