Microsoft: Iranian Nation-State Group Sanctioned by U.S. Behind Charlie Hebdo Hack

An Iranian country-state team sanctioned by the U.S. governing administration has been attributed to the hack of the French satirical journal Charlie Hebdo in early January 2023.

Microsoft, which disclosed facts of the incident, is monitoring the exercise cluster below its chemical factor-themed moniker NEPTUNIUM, which is an Iran-primarily based organization known as Emennet Pasargad.

In January 2022, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) tied the condition-backed cyber unit to a innovative impact marketing campaign carried out to interfere with the 2020 presidential elections. Two Iranian nationals have been accused for their position in the disinformation and risk campaign.

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Microsoft’s disclosure will come following a “hacktivist” team named Holy Souls (now identified as NEPTUNIUM) claimed to be in possession of the personalized details of extra than 200,000 Charlie Hebdo consumers, which includes their complete names, phone quantities, and household and email addresses.

The breach, which authorized NEPTUNIUM to acquire access to an inner database, is suspected to have been orchestrated as a retaliation from the publication for conducting a cartoon contest “ridiculing” Iranian Supreme Chief Ali Khamenei.

The launch of the entire cache of stolen details could direct to mass doxing, Redmond additional cautioned.

“Following Holy Souls posted the sample facts on YouTube and a number of hacker forums, the leak was amplified by a concerted procedure throughout various social media platforms,” the Windows maker’s Electronic Danger Evaluation Center (DTAC) said.

“This amplification work made use of a specific established of affect tactics, tactics, and procedures (TTPs) DTAC has witnessed right before in Iranian hack-and-leak influence functions.”

The factors of similarity include the use of false-flag personas to perform their hack-and-leak functions, inauthentic sockpuppet accounts, and the impersonation of authoritative sources, corroborating an October 2022 advisory from the FBI.

The aim, the FBI assessed, is to “undermine general public assurance in the security of the victim’s network and knowledge, as very well as embarrass target firms and specific international locations.”

“These hack-and-leak campaigns contain a mixture of hacking / theft of data and details functions that impact victims via economical losses and reputational destruction,” the company extra.

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