Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has launched a spate of cyberattacks, in recent weeks targeting the email and social media accounts of Obama administration personnel.
An administration official told the Wall Street Journal that “U.S. officials were among many who were targeted" and said authorities are investigating the possibility the attacks are connected to the recent arrest of Siamak Namazi, an Iranian-American businessman who promoted ties between the two countries.
The computer systems of journalists and academics also were hacked recently, the Journal said.
U.S. officials told the WSJ that the IRGC has an army of Russian-trained cyberattackers who have targeted Wall Street banks, Saudi oil companies, opponents of the regime and others. But a Russia Foreign Ministry spokesperson denied the country has trained Iranians in cyberwarfare, claiming that the attacks are illegal under Russian law, the report said.
