Electronic Warfare Crashes Global Shipping's Navigation Systems
Konstantinos Tsotras was captaining his oil supertanker through the Persian Gulf at the height of Israel's strikes on Iran when it disappeared from his own navigation screen. For the ship's managers thousands of miles away, it appeared — impossibly — to be on a hilltop near an Iranian gas field.
The Greek captain knew immediately what was happening to the Nissos Nikouria, a 330-meter (1,083-foot) vessel that along with its cargo of Kuwaiti crude was worth about $260 million. His electronic navigation systems had been interfered with, something that happened thousands of times to vessels during the conflict.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
US Warns Iran-Tied Hackers Pose Ongoing Risk to American Firms
Iran-affiliated hackers remain a potential threat to critical sectors of the US economy, including defense contractors and other American organizations, according to a bulletin published Monday from the FBI, the National Security Agency, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Defense Cyber Crime Center. The bulletin warns that those with relationships with Israeli research and defense firms were particularly at risk. Hackers affiliated with the Iranian government and hacktivist organizations routinely target poorly secured US computer networks and internet-connected devices for disruptive cyberattacks, according to the report.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Iranian hackers 'may still conduct malicious cyber activity,' US agencies warn
Iranian-affiliated cyber actors and hacktivist groups "may still conduct malicious cyber activity," according to a joint bulletin from U.S. law enforcement agencies. "Based on the current geopolitical environment, Iranian-affiliated cyber actors may target U.S. devices and networks for near-term cyber operations," the bulletin from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), FBI, NSA and Defense Department says. "Defense Industrial Base (DIB) companies, particularly those possessing holdings or relationships with Israeli research and defense firms, are at increased risk. Hacktivists and Iranian-government-affiliated actors routinely target poorly secured U.S. networks and internet-connected devices for disruptive cyberattacks," according to the bulletin. MORE: With July 4 just days away, US law enforcement on high alert for Iran retaliation All of this comes after Israel and Iran "declared ceasefire and ongoing negotiations towards a permanent solution," according to the alert. "Over the past several months, Iranian-aligned hacktivists have increasingly conducted website defacements and leaks of sensitive information exfiltrated from victims," the alert says. "These hacktivists are likely to significantly increase distributed denial of service (DDoS) campaigns against U.S. and Israeli websites due to recent events." The alert says that it hasn't just been over the past few months that Iranian cyber actors have been active. The agencies point to numerous instances in 2023 and 2024 when the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) compromised Israeli-backed technology, and after the start of the conflict between Hamas and Israel, IRGC-backed actors carried out cyber attacks as a form of protest. MORE: Trump blurts out expletive as he lashes out at Israel and Iran over ceasefire "Activities like website defacements, leakage of sensitive information, and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) campaigns against U.S. websites have been common attack methods in the past," the alert says. In a statement, the agencies say they haven't seen any malicious activity, but are issuing the warning for critical infrastructure organizations to be on alert. "We strongly urge organizations to review our joint fact sheet and implement recommended actions to strengthen our collective defense against this potential cyber activity," the statement says.
CNN
3 hours ago
- CNN
Iranian hackers could target American defense companies working in Israel, US agencies warn
US defense companies doing business in Israel are at increased risk of cyberattacks from Iran despite an Israel-Iran ceasefire, American cybersecurity and defense agencies warned Monday. 'Based on the current geopolitical environment, Iranian-affiliated cyber actors may target U.S. devices and networks for near-term cyber operations,' said the advisory from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, FBI, National Security Agency and the Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center. US defense contractors, 'particularly those possessing holdings or relationships with Israeli research and defense firms, are at increased risk,' the agencies said. Iran and Israel have for years conducted intense cyber operations against each other. US officials are increasingly concerned that US organizations with ties to Israel could be caught in the crosshairs. Iran was allegedly behind destructive cyberattacks in 2023 against organizations in the Israeli education and technology sectors. Earlier this month, a pro-Israel hacking group stole $90 million from Iran's largest cryptocurrency exchange, claiming it was revenge against the IRGC. After the US military dropped massive bombs on Iranian nuclear sites over a week ago, US critical infrastructure such as hospitals and water plants have been on high alert for any Iranian retaliation in cyberspace. There haven't been any high-impact Iranian hacks of US organizations reported yet, but Iran's history of aggressive and unpredictable cyber operations has senior US officials paying close attention. CNN has requested comment on the new US advisory from Iran's permanent mission to the United Nations. After the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel in October 2023, hackers linked with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps scanned the internet for Israeli-made industrial software installed at water plants and other facilities across the US, according to US officials. The global hacking campaign included dozens of US victims in the water, energy, food and beverage and health sectors, the new advisory says. That alleged pro-Iranian hacking spree, which did not take advanced skill and exploited weak US defenses, affected people who never expected to be the target of someone allegedly sitting in Tehran. In one case, the hackers forced a water utility in a small town outside of Pittsburgh to operate pump stations manually. 'That was maybe the furthest thing from my mind,' Robert J. Bible, the general manager of the Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa, told CNN in November 2023, referring to being caught up in cyberattacks related to the Israel-Gaza war. 'Especially for a community. We only serve 15,000 people. You wouldn't put two and two together.' An overriding goal of Iranian hacking operations is psychological, according to experts. The hackers use online personas to exaggerate their exploits, and they have aggressively tried to get journalists to write about their activity. Those personas have been active online in recent days, claiming successful cyberattacks on a variety of targets after Israel attacked Iran more than two weeks ago. 'If it's there, and vulnerable, they have a higher likelihood of targeting it,' one US official, who was monitoring potential Iranian hacking threats to critical infrastructure, previously told CNN
