The Iranian authorities did not appreciate the caricatures of the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, made by Charlie Hebdo in early January. Coupled with the consequent diplomatic tensions with France, Iran reportedly decided to directly attack the newspaper. According to Microsoft, the country is behind a major cyberattack against Charlie Hebdo, which also took place in early January.
Potential threats to subscribers
In a blog post, Microsoft believes the attack is a direct Iranian response to the publication of the cartoons mocking Ali Khamenei. The company’s cybersecurity teams mention the leak of data linked to 230,000 Internet users who subscribed to the weekly or who made purchases on its website. Among the stolen information are names, names, email addresses, but also telephone numbers.
Shortly after the cyberattack, the hackers put the database up for sale for 20 bitcoins, the equivalent – at the time – to 315,000 euros. how do you remember The worldwho was able to authenticate a sample of the data, this sale was accompanied by numerous political messages criticizing Charlie Hebdo.
In fact, this spread on hacker forums was accompanied by multiple posts on social networks, in particular thanks to the creation of fake Twitter accounts. A strategy frequently used by hackers linked to the Iranian state, Microsoft says.
Source: BFM TV
