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Iranian Hacker Group Created Fake News Organization For Social Engineering

Posted by timothy on from the won't-you-be-my-neighbor dept.

itwbennett (1594911) writes "A suspected Iranian hacker group seeded Facebook and LinkedIn with bogus profiles of attractive women and even created a fake online news organization to get digitally closer to more than 2,000 U.S. military members, defense contractors and lobbyists it wanted to spy on, according to a report by security consultancy iSight Partners. The group is suspected to be in Iran, based on their working patterns and the location of their command-and-control infrastructure, said Patrick McBride, vice president of iSight's marketing and communications. Their activity is consistent with government-sponsored espionage campaigns, but 'we don't have anything specific tying them back to the government,' he added." Adds reader wiredmikey (1824622): "The recently uncovered activity, which iSIGHT Partners calls NEWSCASTER, was a 'brazen, complex multi-year cyber-espionage that used a low-tech approach to avoid traditional security defenses–exploiting social media and people who are often the 'weakest link' in the security chain.' ... Working undetected since 2011, targets included senior U.S. military and diplomatic personnel, congressional personnel, Washington D.C. area journalists, U.S. think tanks, and defense contractors in the U.S. and Israel."

34 of 57 comments (clear)

  1. News Organizations by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    I thought all news organizations were created for social engineering purposes.

    1. Re:News Organizations by s.petry · · Score: 2

      Not created for that purpose, but surely get taken over and used for that purpose. Most people creating "News" sites do so for altruistic reasons (not all obviously). But like all other forms of power, get vacuumed up because certain people want it all.

      --

      -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    2. Re:News Organizations by ThatsDrDangerToYou · · Score: 2

      What, you thought MSNBC was level, objective, and centered? They're every bit as much a mouthpiece for the left as Fox is for the right. The rest of the media leans left as well. There is no objective journalism anymore, it's all out propaganda war. Oh, and you forgot to spell it "faux".

      With the idealogical drift in the US, MSNBC is considered "left", but in worldwide terms I think "center-left" would be more accurate. For the actual left, try Democracy Now. .. but we'll accept "MSNBC is a mouthpiece for the Dems" as a correct answer. Thanks fer playin!

    3. Re:News Organizations by timeOday · · Score: 2
      The phrase "social engineering" strikes me as off-key too. Evidently we have so completely bought into the idea that intelligence is fundamentally a technical activity rather than a social one, that we now consider using social means just a trick to accomplish what is fundamentally a technical goal. Which is to say, we are bass-ackwards.

      Getting close to important people to learn what they're thinking isn't some clever new thing, it is fundamental intelligence work. Maybe we should get back into that instead of technical dragnets covering everybody.

    4. Re:News Organizations by ArhcAngel · · Score: 1

      Perhaps it's even worse on the other side?

      --
      "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K
    5. Re:News Organizations by FearTheDonut · · Score: 1

      I've always thought NPR was about as unbiased as you get. I've heard all sorts of stories there, although they do have a lot of human-interest stuff. And sometimes that's immediately labeled liberal. But I've heard things on NPR that are downright evangelical in nature (usually around holidays).

    6. Re:News Organizations by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      I used to dig Democracy NOW!, but just like TYT, they've succumbed to the urge to drop to their knees and open wide for whoever the current Democrat-in-Chief happens to be. They're basically Limbaugh's antithesis now.

      Shame, that.

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    7. Re:News Organizations by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      NPR's gotten pretty bad the last few years.

      For example, last month they spent a week doing this big production about guns in America (can't remember what they called it). Of the 5 shows they aired, only 1 had an interview with a pro-2nd Amendment pundit, and that was only after they got a flood of complaints that their coverage was heavily biased towards supporting the anti-gun crowd.

      That got me thinking: back when Bush was President, he blustered a lot about how NPR was unfairly biased towards the left; an accusation that turned out to be false (at the time), and was proven by virtue of the fact that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting board was, in fact, stacked with Republicans. But ever since about 2010, I've noticed a real sea change in their coverage. Now I can't stand to listen to their propagandist bullshit - if I wanted that, I'd tune into MSNBC or FOX.

      Car Talk is about the only reason I ever hit the local NPR station anymore.

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    8. Re:News Organizations by cyberchondriac · · Score: 1

      With the idealogical drift in the US, MSNBC is considered "left", but in worldwide terms I think "center-left" would be more accurate. For the actual left, try Democracy Now. .. but we'll accept "MSNBC is a mouthpiece for the Dems" as a correct answer. Thanks fer playin!

      That "ideological drift" is a myth.
      Imagine in 1979, or even 1999, the US congress (or even state legislatures) seriously discussing or pushing for:

      • Gay rights and marriage: No one, not even the democrats, would've touched that with a 20 ft pole back then.
      • Marijuana decriminalization/ legalization? Aw hell no, ya "druggie". Not even with a 40 ft pole.
      • Amnesty for illegal aliens? Are you loco?
      • Abolishing capital punishment? That was just starting. Fewer states now use it than ever in the US's history.
      • Religion in government? Always been there, at least, in living memory. In fact, during his election campaign, people had a big issue with JFK because he was catholic, not protestant. Presidents have always prayed in office, mentioned "god" and sworn in on a bible since I can remember, and I'm no spring chicken.

      Things only appear to have shifted to the right because they've actually shifted left. Society tends to grow more socially liberal, not less.

      Thanks for hosting the game!

      --

      Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
    9. Re:News Organizations by cHiphead · · Score: 1

      Open society naturally grows more liberal, and as a response, politics grows more conservative in its attempt to counteract change.

      Thankfully in this cycle, looks like society is winning on the spin-of-the-wheel for cultural development.

      --

      This is my sig. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
    10. Re:News Organizations by cHiphead · · Score: 1

      I feel it was the McDonald's inheritance fortune from years back that poisoned NPR. Republicans saw a chance to siphon some profits from the teat of a public institution and immediately did their damnedest to wrestle their own control into the foundations that manage that money. CPB was the first domino to really fall to them.

      --

      This is my sig. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
    11. Re:News Organizations by rotovator · · Score: 1

      There is no left and right, just up and down

    12. Re:News Organizations by Blaskowicz · · Score: 1

      And George W. Bush had blacks and women in his government.

      That's part of the deal, you now get authorization to stick your penis where you want, or you're free to not have a penis, but you won't escape laissez-faire capitalism, "free trade", the rule of oligarchy, the anti-science propaganda, the wars and so on.

      Whether this is "left-wing" is up to interpretation.

    13. Re:News Organizations by DocSavage64109 · · Score: 1

      Should I assume from your claim that Forbes and their source are both certified as neutral by an independent third party?

    14. Re:News Organizations by cyberchondriac · · Score: 1

      That's a good point. Some of the perceived shift right is correct due to backlash.

      --

      Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
    15. Re:News Organizations by cyberchondriac · · Score: 1

      Well the very fact that rather than engage in intelligent discourse, some butthurt lefty has decided to mod me "troll" ( not even "overrated"), speaks volumes about their maturity. Seriously, defending MSLSD as an objective news organization? That's batshit insane, like claiming Fox isn't conservative. This kind of thing just makes the left look worse.

      --

      Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
    16. Re:News Organizations by ArhcAngel · · Score: 1

      What claim? I simply suggested a possibility.

      --
      "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K
    17. Re:News Organizations by Blaskowicz · · Score: 1

      BTW.. gender equality means more workforce, so more GDP (and more workers competing for jobs)
      Much fewer housewives, much less domestic work - which improves life but generates no GDP - leads to higher GDP and consumption of wrapped up products and foods.
      Homosexual couples are consumers who virtually only have disposable income.
      Even "MJ" heads you can sell them rolling paper, lighters, grinders and bongs I guess - ah yes, there's the lamps, fertilizers, electricity and other crap.

      Morals don't exist, only GDP does and it is the sole and only goal.

  2. wot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Wait, are you trying to tell me there are social news groups out there telling... truth? You gotta be lying!

  3. Thank goodness by rockabilly · · Score: 2

    Thank goodness the NSA was on top of this and notified everyone of the threat. Tanks NSA...

  4. Weakest links? by gstoddart · · Score: 1

    targets included senior U.S. military and diplomatic personnel, congressional personnel, Washington D.C. area journalists, U.S. think tanks, and defense contractors in the U.S. and Israel

    You know, you'd really like to hope that organizations like this would be getting more security training.

    But, I guess, some of the people who are supposed to work with the press are meant to be complete media whores, and the senior people all think the rules don't apply to them.

    I know my company does phishing tests fairly regularly, and if you fail one, you need to go for remedial security training. I think if you fail several, you might get told you should look elsewhere.

    --
    Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    1. Re:Weakest links? by oodaloop · · Score: 3, Informative

      Defense contractor here, and we get tons of training on how to avoid phishing and other cyber threats, espionage, sabotage, active shooter, equal opportunity, sexual harasment, emergency occupant, ad nauseum. For many people, it's in one ear and out the other.

      --
      Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
    2. Re:Weakest links? by k6mfw · · Score: 1

      what about training to secure your finances i.e. retirement funds from Wall Street predators?

      --
      mfwright@batnet.com
  5. Propaganda again? by Jmc23 · · Score: 5, Insightful
    No proof Iran had anything to do with it, but hey, it fortifies our Israel propaganda.

    This looks more like a scare tactic by the companies that make a living off of detecting these 'cyber' attacks.

    And to top it all off, there's nothing new here, it's just basic social engineering. I would actually suspect this coming more from cultures that are used to social engineering.

    --
    Don't complain about syntax, grammar, or spelling. There is no.hell like input on android.
    1. Re:Propaganda again? by myoparo · · Score: 1

      Yeah no proof Iran had anything to do with it... except when you look at the WHOIS information for that domain.

    2. Re:Propaganda again? by Jmc23 · · Score: 1
      Wait, are you saying super scary trained evil hacker/spy agencies have never heard of 'spoofing'?

      Which is it, are they idiots or do we need to be scared of them? Especially when the tactics they are using depend on the US people being idiots?

      --
      Don't complain about syntax, grammar, or spelling. There is no.hell like input on android.
  6. American government does this all the time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    But apparently it's only news when our competitors do it.

    1. Re:American government does this all the time by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      But apparently it's only news when competitors for our PetroDollars do it.

      FTFY. I have no quarrel with any of the Iranian people.

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
  7. Was it Fox news? by T.E.D. · · Score: 5, Funny

    bogus profiles of attractive women and even created a fake online news organization to get digitally closer to more than 2,000 U.S. military members, defense contractors and lobbyists it wanted to spy on,

    Wait! So the Iranians actually created Fox News as a way to mess with the minds of American right wingers, and undermine the country?

    Why, that's just...well...actually it explains a lot.

    1. Re:Was it Fox news? by CanHasDIY · · Score: 1

      bogus profiles of attractive women and even created a fake online news organization to get digitally closer to more than 2,000 U.S. military members, defense contractors and lobbyists it wanted to spy on,

      Wait! So the Iranians actually created Fox News as a way to mess with the minds of American right wingers, and undermine the country?

      Iranians? No, no, no, that's just crazy.

      You're thinking of the Saudis

      --
      An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
    2. Re:Was it Fox news? by Eunuchswear · · Score: 1

      bogus profiles of attractive women and even created a fake online news organization to get digitally closer to more than 2,000 U.S. military members, defense contractors and lobbyists it wanted to spy on,

      Wait! So the Iranians actually created Fox News as a way to mess with the minds of American right wingers, and undermine the country?

      Why, that's just...well...actually it explains a lot.

      Well,no.

      Fox is Saudi owned, not Iranian.

      Ever wondered why Iraq got attacked after 9/11?

      --
      Watch this Heartland Institute video
  8. Iranians and their propaganda new outlets by bazmail · · Score: 1

    That would NEVER fly here in the US.

  9. I knew it was fishy... by GPLDAN · · Score: 2, Funny

    ..when the "hot chicks" were Nancy Pelosi and Rosie O'Donnell.

  10. Fake News Organization For Social Engineering? by Goody · · Score: 1

    So they created another Fox News?

    --
    Tired of being "punished" by the Slashdot $rtbl since 2002. I'm now over at http://soylentnews.org/ .