Posted on 03/06/2024 7:54:16 PM PST by Milagros
Iran surges cyber-enabled influence operations in support of Hamas. 02/07/2024 Iran surges cyber-enabled influence operations in support of Hamas Introduction As the Israel-Hamas war broke out on October 7, 2023, Iran immediately surged support to Hamas with its now well-honed technique of combining targeted hacks with influence operations amplified on social media, what we refer to as cyber-enabled influence operations.1 Iran’s operations were initially reactionary and opportunistic. By late October, nearly all of Iran’s influence and major cyber actors focused on Israel in an increasingly targeted, coordinated, and destructive manner, making for a seemingly boundless “all-hands-on-deck” campaign against Israel. Unlike some of Iran’s past cyberattacks, all of its destructive cyberattacks against Israel in this war—real or fabricated—were complemented with online influence operations.
Key terms defined
-Cyber-enabled influence operations Operations which combine offensive computer network operations with messaging and amplification in a coordinated and manipulative fashion to shift perceptions, behaviors, or decisions by target audiences to further a group or a nation’s interests and objectives.
Cyber persona A manufactured public-facing group or individual that takes responsibility for a cyber operation while providing plausible deniability for the underlying group or nation responsible.
Sockpuppet A false online persona employing fictitious or stolen identities for the purpose of deception. Influence operations grew increasingly sophisticated and inauthentic, deploying networks of social media “sockpuppets” as the war progressed. Throughout the war these influence operations have sought to intimidate Israelis while criticizing the Israeli government’s handling of hostages and military operations to polarize and ultimately destabilize Israel. government’s handling of hostages and military operations to polarize and ultimately destabilize Israel.
Eventually, Iran turned its cyberattacks and influence operations against Israel’s political allies and economic partners to undermine support to Israel’s military operations.
We expect the threat posed by Iran’s cyber and influence operations will grow as the conflict persists, particularly amid the rising potential for a widening war. Increased brazenness of Iranian and Iran-affiliated actors coupled with burgeoning collaboration among them portends a growing threat ahead of the US elections in November.
This is an excerpt. See more at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/business/security-insider/reports/iran-surge...
The link to the rest of article:
Two observations: 1) Unless US and UK ground troops deploy against Houthi sites ( and incur casualties in a long difficult mission), the Houthi attacks will continue 2) Iran, until definitively stopped, will continue to supply the Houthis with more sophisticated, more stealthy and more accurate ordinance as the technology improves and the cost even diminishes.
The Mideast is a perpetual quagmire for the United States. The bitter irony is that the US, now self sufficient in oil, has no critical interests in the region. In fact oil producers, wanting hard currency and what it buys, will beat a path to American ports to sell their oil or starve.
Several ham ass sock puppets in evidence on FR.
This is about the fifth time this week that Iran and sophisticated have appeared in the same sentence.
Suspicious is an understatement.
The key is
Iran humiliating us=bad
Us escalating=bad
Like in another thread tonight it is free rolling, heads I win, tails you lose hate America stuff largely reserved for leftists.
Take out Iran’s oil industry and it all gets quiet very quickly
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