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Iran Behind Cyber Attacks On U.S. Banks

New submitter who_stole_my_kidneys writes "Evidence suggests the Iranian government is behind cyberattacks this week that have targeted the websites of JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America. The attacks are described by one source, a former U.S. official, as being 'significant and ongoing,' and looking to cause 'functional and significant damage.' Another source suggested the attacks were in response to U.S. sanctions on Iranian banks."

50 of 306 comments (clear)

  1. Maybe... by brian0918 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Maybe if we apologize to them more, they'll like us.

    1. Re:Maybe... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Maybe if we poke fun of Islam a bit more, they'll actually succeed in eliminating the banks for us. Ha-ha, only serious.

    2. Re:Maybe... by Cigarra · · Score: 4, Insightful

      How about not doing things that need to be apologized for, to begin with?

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      I don't have a sig.
    3. Re:Maybe... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Because we don't apologize to barbarians who stone women for adultery after being raped. And, yes, even in the cases of legitimate rape.

    4. Re:Maybe... by crazyjj · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Well, it Iran's case. It probably didn't help that we overthrew their democratically elected government, stole their oil for decades with a puppet regime, and now are sending in computer malware to blow up their centrifuges and assassinating their nuclear scientists.

      Such actions do tend to cause some animosity.

      --
      What political party do you join when you don't like Bible-thumpers *or* hippies?
    5. Re:Maybe... by fredrated · · Score: 5, Insightful

      No, we don't apologize to them, we subvert their democracy and install our own monsters that kill and enslave them, much more civilized.

    6. Re:Maybe... by SternisheFan · · Score: 5, Insightful

      How about not doing things that need to be apologized for, to begin with?

      First of all, "we", the U.S., didn't do anything. That low budget movie was done by an individual, a man (an Egyptian emigre) with a personal "ax" to grind. He made his movie fully aware it would be controversial. This great country allows anyone, even bozos, to freedom of expression.

      To the indoctrinated Muslim, their religion defines them as a people, so of course the movie fanned the flames of unrest. But as for America, WE did nothing wrong, and have no reason to apologize. The Muslim world needs to examine their own society, and come to a resolution concerning their own behavior.

    7. Re:Maybe... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

      "Us vs them" is not by any means a purely Republican thing, as your own comment unintentionally demonstrates.

    8. Re:Maybe... by berashith · · Score: 4, Interesting

      oh, that was all so long ago... only half of the Iranian's currently living there are old enough to remember those things. Maybe more would be alive if we hadnt propped up their neighbor who was happily killing them with our chemical weapons, but again, that is history now.

    9. Re:Maybe... by betterunixthanunix · · Score: 4, Insightful

      ...except that we are the ones who created that mess. Remember, we overthrew the Iranian government, then they overthrew the dictatorship we created, then created their own rights-abusing government which we gave weapons to. I guess instead of apologizing to barbarians, we arm them.

      --
      Palm trees and 8
    10. Re:Maybe... by betterunixthanunix · · Score: 5, Informative

      First of all, "we", the U.S., didn't do anything

      I guess someone has not been studying the history of US-Iranian relations:

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1953_Iranian_coup_d'%C3%A9tat

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran-iraq_war

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran-contra_affair

      It is not as though the Iranians started to consider us to be enemies without us having done anything to them.

      --
      Palm trees and 8
    11. Re:Maybe... by cheesybagel · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Given Stuxnet, several mysterious pipeline explosions, assassinations, explosions at munitions depots, etc. I consider attacking banking websites pretty tame in comparison.

    12. Re:Maybe... by shentino · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Evil is evil no matter if it is provoked or not, and that applies to ALL sides of ANY moral issue.

    13. Re:Maybe... by mister_playboy · · Score: 2

      What do you think this is, the reenactment of Iwo Jima?

      Don't you mean the reenactment of NetBSD's founding? :)

      --
      Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law ::: Love is the law, love under will
    14. Re:Maybe... by Vainglorious+Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

      just like how Iran launched chemical weapons into Iraq in the 90s and killed thousands

      False. Iraq, and only Iraq, used chemical weapons in the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-88. (And non incidentally, the chemical weapons were supplied by the west, and targetted using western intelligence).

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    15. Re:Maybe... by Bryansix · · Score: 2

      There are some time gaps in your story as well as some interesting events that took place. Could your post have been any more one-sided? For one thing, how exactly is it stealing when many nations worth of companies invested in their oil extraction infrastructure but some how not worth mentioning when the Iranians Nationalized assets that belonged to foreign corporations?

    16. Re:Maybe... by gale+the+simple · · Score: 2

      I am just curious. Does it mean it is a-OK to essentially dethrone a government legally chosen by its constituency?

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    17. Re:Maybe... by gale+the+simple · · Score: 2

      Yes, and being surprised at people being mildly annoyed when a foreign nation basically destroys their government structure is not one sided. I just want to make sure I understand your argument: it is ok to subvert democratically chosen government to uphold the profits of a corporation?

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    18. Re:Maybe... by shutdown+-p+now · · Score: 2

      "Iranians" includes women, too

    19. Re:Maybe... by jsepeta · · Score: 3, Insightful

      especially when they believe their deity tells them that women are not equal to men, and shouldn't vote, or drive, learn to read, or show their face in public. i'm sick of bleeding hearts defending these muslim assholes. i haven't heard many stories of people from other faiths being so mean to their own mothers, sisters, daughters, wives.

      --
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    20. Re:Maybe... by Ice+Tiger · · Score: 4, Informative

      No seriously, modern Iran is the result of western interference, go read it up.

      --
      "Because we are not employing at entry level, offshoring will kill our industry stone dead."
    21. Re:Maybe... by ryzvonusef · · Score: 2
      --
      I am an ACCA student. Got a query on Accountancy/Finance? Maybe I can help!
    22. Re:Maybe... by betterunixthanunix · · Score: 2
      That is complete nonsense. I know you are probably just a troll with a remarkably low UID, but here is a brief lesson on Iranian history for you:
      1. In 1906, the Iranian people created a constitutional democracy. They chose to follow Islamic government style in this system, and wrote a constitution that declares Islam to be the state religion. They required the monarch to be a Muslim. In the years that followed, they amended their constitution so that Islamic clerics would review laws to ensure that no harm would come to Islam from the laws enacted by the government.

        The 1906 constitution recognizes the "people of the book" as having a right to be represented in parliament. Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians can be elected as representatives of their respective communities. Other religions cannot be elected, and there was systematic persecution of Bahai'i under this system.
      2. In 1951, Mohammad Mossadegh was elected Prime Minister by a landslide. Mossadegh was a reformer who ended indentured servitude, established numerous social services, and pushed for expanded rights for women, universities, courts, and for freedom of religion (all of the above probably led to Mossadegh's overwhelming popularity). Mossadegh also fought against corruption in the Iranian government and was generally viewed as a remarkably honest politician (again, a likely source of his popularity).
      3. In 1953, the US and UK removed Mossadegh and the Iranian parliament from power, in response to the nationalization of Iranian oil drilling. The Shah of Iran, Pahlavi, became an authoritarian dictator, and received full US backing (via cooperation between the CIA and the Iranian SAVAK). Pahlavi was known for executing political opponents and for using secret police to put down dissidents and protests. Pahlavi was viewed by many Iranians as catering to foreigners at the expense of Iran's own culture and interests (and doing so in a needlessly extravagant fashion).
      4. In 1979, the Iranians overthrew Pahlavi's government and sent the Shah into exile. The Iranians established an Islamic republic, with a new constitution that was more Islamic than the 1906 constitution. The new government did not pick up where Mossadegh left off, and the new parliament was left in a subordinate position to the clerics. It is not clear if the Pahlavi monarchy was more or less oppressive than the Ayatollah's theocracy.

      Welcome to the real world, where things are not as simple as "those evil Arab Muslims hate us White Christians!"

      --
      Palm trees and 8
  2. Iran, or... by Livius · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...someone who would like to frame Iran.

    1. Re:Iran, or... by Hillgiant · · Score: 5, Funny

      Surely the Doctor would not stoop so low.

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      -
  3. Good by Hatta · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Iran is doing more to punish those criminals than our own government is. Thanks Iran.

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    Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    1. Re:Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Hahaha, you think "those criminals" are the ones who will pay the cost for this? You are just adorable. I want to pinch your cheeks.

  4. Re:Just disconnect them. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Irantranet

  5. I wonder how and why by circletimessquare · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The brave cyberwarriors of the theocracy can on one hand fight for the glory of their dogmatic institutions, while using the technology that the infidels invented, that they wouldn't even possess, without assembly in infidel lands.

    How is God great when it is the godless who provides the tools used to prove God is great?

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
    1. Re:I wonder how and why by sdguero · · Score: 2

      I've had the same problem with televangelists for years...

    2. Re:I wonder how and why by betterunixthanunix · · Score: 2

      The Persians have a long history of trade with other nations and cultures, and the Iranians have not simply forgotten that history. Iran as it exists today is screwed up primarily because of the US and the UK overthrowing a democratically elected government that was trying to nationalize oil concerns, as well as the US backing the brutal dictatorship that followed that coup d'etat, and the US supplying weapons to both sides of the Iran-Iraq war. The Iranians did not wake up one day and decide they wanted a brutal, rights-abusing government; they rebelled against that sort of thing when it was forced upon them, and like most revolutions, they only winded up creating more of the same.

      --
      Palm trees and 8
  6. We should retaliate! by JabrTheHut · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Maybe we can overthrow their government and install a brutal dictator who will torture and murder people with our approval.

    Maybe we can pay a neighbouring country to start a war with them. We could give that neighbouring country chemical and biological weapons and then accuse Iran of using them.

    We could impose crippling sanctions on them, denying them medicine and illegally seizing their assets where we can, and threatening anyone who trades with them.

    We could fund Sunni extremists to blow up cars in crowded markets, hoping to start a wave of terror.

    We could start murdering their scientists and academics.

    We could launch our own cyber attack on them.

    Well, we could do all these things again, as we've done them all at least once. Maybe,if we can't think of anything else, we can ask, exasperated, "Why do they hate us?"

    --
    Work like no one is watching. Dance like you've never been hurt. Make love like you don't need the money.
    1. Re:We should retaliate! by ViperOrel · · Score: 2

      No body hates anybody here. These are countries, not people. Countries don't actually have friends or enemies. Only interests.

      If they want us to stop setting their stuff on fire, they need to align their interests with ours. Until then, we'll keep inching that armada we've got off their coast ever closer until either they take a shot at us or somebody sneezes and then the war starts.

    2. Re:We should retaliate! by Cigarra · · Score: 2

      If they want us to stop setting their stuff on fire, they need to align their interests with ours.

      How does the antelope align its interests with the lion's? Becoming suddenly suicidal?

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    3. Re:We should retaliate! by Vainglorious+Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      We could give that neighbouring country chemical and biological weapons

      citation needed

      How about the Senate report on U.S. Chemical and Biological Warfare-Related Dual-Use Exports to Iraq, amongst whose findings is "The United States provided the Government of Iraq with "dual use" licensed materials which assisted in the development of Iraqi chemical, biological, and missile- system programs, including:(6) chemical warfare agent precursors; chemical warfare agent production facility plans and technical drawings (provided as pesticide production facility plans); chemical warhead filling equipment; biological warfare related materials; missile fabrication equipment; and, missile-system guidance equipment"

      Is that fact straight enough for you?/P

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    4. Re:We should retaliate! by Gavagai80 · · Score: 2

      But... we legitimately thought Iraq was being invaded by giant insects and we were doing our humanitarian duty to provide guided-missile-equipped pesticide factories. How could we have known?

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      This space intentionally left blank
  7. Tit for tat cyberware by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You destroy their centrifuging equipment, they attempt to kick your in the bank. What ? youw ere expecting in impunity to attack a coutnry without that coutnry answering ?

  8. $40B Per Month Tells Me They Will Be Ok.. by SuperCharlie · · Score: 2

    With the endless parade of cash from Bernanke currently scheduled to the tune of $40 BILLION per month indefinitely, somehow, I think these poor abused banks will squeek through this. Hell.. they could buy every damn tech manufacturer then make them custom build giant golden cow shaped HFT machines the size of the statue of liberty and then still have enough bailout cash to fill every Olympic pool in the US with $100 bills.

    1. Re:$40B Per Month Tells Me They Will Be Ok.. by afidel · · Score: 2

      Err, the $40B is the Fed buying T-bills, the only way that's helping the big banks is by causing the yield on those instruments to fall thus making other investments (like perhaps bonds issues through big banks) more attractive.

      --
      There are 4 boxes to use in the defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, ammo. Use in that order. Starting now.
    2. Re:$40B Per Month Tells Me They Will Be Ok.. by SuperCharlie · · Score: 3, Informative

      http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443890304578006702760267388.html The Fed said it would buy mortgage-backed securities, or MBS, for an indefinite period to bolster the economy. Smells like shoveling money at the derivatives to me.. and who holds a metric fuckton of those I wonder...

  9. propaganda by dtml-try+MyNick · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I think this is the second or third accusation from the US to Iran about something or the other this week.

    This pastern of preparing people for another war again is getting a bit obvious by now,

    --
    Life starts at the end of your comfort zone.
    1. Re:propaganda by siddesu · · Score: 3, Insightful

      what is worse is that people are buying into it once again. the submittard is talking about emerging "evidence", then links to a wall of text with 100% speculation and no shred of evidence, emerging or emerged.

  10. Re:We need a "World" court by nospam007 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "We need to have a world court, staffed with judges representing all countries."

    We have had that for years. The US wants no part of it, because lots of war criminals are US citizens.

  11. Gotta Love the Hyperbole! by CanHasDIY · · Score: 3, Insightful
    From TFA:

    A group of purported hackers in the Middle East has claimed credit for problems at the websites of both banks, citing the online video mocking the founder of Islam. One security source called that statement "a cover" for the Iranian government's operations... Also, one source suggested the attacks were in response to U.S. sanctions on Iranian banks.

    ... and of course, if an anonymous coward says it, it must be true!

    A ["]conservative["] website, FreeBeacon.com, initially reported on the Pentagon analysis, quoting it as saying, “Iran’s cyber aggression should be viewed as a component, alongside efforts like support for terrorism, to the larger covert war Tehran is waging against the west.” U.S officials did not deny the FreeBeacon report when queried by NBC News.

    Uh... it's not really 'aggression' when it's in response to a previous, unprovoked attack, is it? I think the phrase you're looking for is "the best defense is a good offense."

    The former head of cyber-security for the White House testified Thursday that “we were waiting for something like this from Iran.”

    So... US/Isreal invades Iranian territory, hacks their computers causing millions in physical damage to equipment, murders Iranian nationals within their own borders with drive-by bombings, sanctions, constant threats and saber-rattling... but Iran and their allies are the terrorists for allegedly perpetrating a DDoS attack on a couple outward-facing bank websites?

    Yea, I think most bullies would, at some point, realize that at least one of the people they've fucked with will eventually retaliate.

    --
    An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
  12. Good. by TechwoIf · · Score: 2

    Now maybe the banks will start fixing there sites. Poor security, only works in IE, etc.

  13. oh gawd, not this ignorant shit by circletimessquare · · Score: 2, Interesting

    yes, the usa and the uk did bad things in the cold war. so did the soviet union. in fact, every single goddam country in the world has a black mark on its past from some point in its history

    what does that mean? NOTHING. what the usa did in the cold war has zero, ZERO bearing on the beliefs and will and agenda of the actual iranians in charge of the actual country of iran today

    are iranians an angry hive of bees? dumb forces of nature? i don't think so. but you think so: according to you, iranians are not real people, capable of their own motivations, ideas and thoughts. in your mind iranians are only cardboard cut out automatons, whose range of actions are confined to mirror image reflections... of what somebody did in the west 60 years ago!

    colonialism is over. the cold war is dead. the point of history is to learn from it, not be TRAPPED in it

    i mean let's put it this way: bin laden bombed the wtc on 9/11/2001. therefore, i can blame all politics in the usa since that point in time on saudi arabia. right? bush was elected again in 2004 because of bin laden. obama was elected in 2008 because of bin laden. the dream act being stymied out is because bin laden. iphone 5 is because of bin laden. it's the year 2045, some guy in the usa landed on mars. of course, because of what bin laden did in 2001

    do you see how stupid this is?

    i lose my patience with this condescending, patronizing ignorance where, in your mind, all sources of good, or bad, can only flow from the west

    brain dead dipshit: there are actual people with their own original ideas in other parts of the world. shocking huh? (such as islamic rule, which was the basis of the iranian revolution in 1979... did the usa invent islamic rule?)

    stop commenting on international issues, it's embarrassing

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
  14. Re:We need a "World" court by jittles · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The US probably could not legally be a part of such "World Court" without violating the US Constitution. Certainly the only way it would ever remotely be constitutional is if it were a ratified treaty, approved by the legislature and signed by the executive branch. There is little chance of that happening, and probably for good reason. There is no reason that a government shouldn't be able to enter into negotiations to resolve disputes with other countries, and certainly other countries should be free to sanction any country they choose, but to have some third party enter two entire nations into binding and un-appealable agreements does not sound very smart. How can you say that any of the judges are unbiased or fair? Because I know no man or woman who is unbiased, and most are not fair.

    And what force ensures that people hold up their end of the judgement? The UN? The UN wasn't set up in a way that instills faith in its abilities to end disputes, or to enforce judgements.

  15. Re:This is a red herring... by chill · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Iran represents monetary ideas that show that modern societies can work without interest based banking.

    Ha ha ha ha ha! You think their banks work without interest? Semantic horseshit. The Islamic religious fanatics in charge are STEEPED in semantic horseshit.

    Islamic "non-interest" banks simply calculate what the interest would be, then adds it on to the loan as a fee. You pay the same amount, but it is added in as a lump sum fee. Instead of a $100,000 loan w/5% interest on a $100,000 house, they buy the house for $100,00 then resell it to you for $200,000 on term. That isn't sinful interest, it is a blessed fee. Bankers are still bankers. TANSTAAFL.

    Oh, and wagering on horse races is illegal because gambling is a sin. Except in Iran. When you place a bet on the ponies at the track, you're given a minuscule percentage of ownership of the horse for the duration of the race. Because betting on a horse you OWN isn't a sin. Only betting on OTHER animals is. Semantics.

    Guess how they handle the "sin" of prostitution? You know how Islam allows you to have up to 3 wives? Well, if you only have 1 or 2 you can pop into the brothel and have the cleric "marry" you to one of the girls for the duration -- a few minutes to a couple of hours. This way she isn't a prostitute but your wife, and thus it isn't a sin. Instant divorce when you're done. They make Las Vegas look like pikers.

    So feel free to go on and on about how Islamic banks have the answer to "fractional reserve banking" and the evils of usury but when you're done, look at it again and you'll see it is the same old pig just with a different wig.

    --
    Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
  16. Re:i'm not responsible for the words i write by jjohnson · · Score: 2

    I really don't know how to express my disgust with what you said. You would absolve history's major actors of any responsibility for the shape of the world, as if they were bystanders. You act like yesterday and today are just accidental neighbours.

    I guess in your justice system, the bank robbers do split the sentence.

    --
    Anyone who loves or hates any language, platform, or manufacturer, doesn't know what they're talking about.
  17. Re:So that means hatred forever is ok? by betterunixthanunix · · Score: 3, Informative

    The UK, Germany, Japan, and so on

    In fact, the British attacked the US in 1812, and did not truly become our allies until the 20th century -- generations after the revolution. We helped to establish democratic governments in Germany and Japan.

    When it came to Iran, we went with the opposite approach: the elimination of democracy in favor of authoritarian dictatorship. The Iranians did not rebel against their democratic government, they rebelled against a tyrant who had US backing. There is a world of difference between what happened in Iran and what happened in Germany or Japan.

    There is something to be said for "forgive and forget" rather than holding a grudge until the end of eternity.

    Chances are that the Iranians would have forgotten their anger, if we did not keep angering them. After they overthrew the dictatorship we created (sadly, only to establish another tyranny), we started giving the Iraqis weapons to kill Iranians with. Then in secret, we also gave Iranian weapons to kill Iraqis with, basically escalating a war that resulted in many dead Arabs and Persians. We also have an embargo on Iran, we have sent numerous, sophisticated, and destructive malware packages to them (and have written those to target their computer systems) and we keep calling them our enemy. It is not as though they are still getting back at us for everything that happened 60 years ago; we just won't leave them alone.

    For that matter, were the US to apply the same logic they'd have plenty of reason to hold a grudge forever against Iran

    Which is basically what we are doing -- as I said, we are not leaving them alone, we are actively working against Iran. We never had a good reason to get involved with Iran in the first place, and we keep worsening the situation.

    try to make progress

    Let's start be reevaluating our approach to overthrowing governments. We screwed up with Iran and Iraq; let's try not to screw up again going forward (maybe we should be asking about the escalation of US military activity in South America).

    --
    Palm trees and 8