Security experts warn about Iran and North Korea hackers

March 25, 2013

Cyberattacks supposedly originating from China have raised alarms in recent weeks, but U.S. businesses and government agencies should worry as much about Iran and North Korea, a group of cybersecurity experts said. China and Russia have significantly more sophisticated cyberthreat capabilities than do Iran and North Korea, but the two smaller countries are cause for concern in international cybersecurity discussions, the experts told a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee last wek. While China and Russia maintain active diplomatic ties with the U.S., which should discourage them from launching major attacks on the U.S., Iran and North Korea may be driven to attack the U.S. out of desperation to maintain their political regimes in the face of global isolation, said Frank Cilluffo, director of the Homeland Security Policy Institute and co-director of the Cyber Center for National and Economic Security at George Washington University. Iran still lacks the capabilities of Russia and China, but it has been testing its cyberattack abilities in recent months, Cilluffo said. "The bad news is ... what they lack in capability, they more than make up for in intent," he said. "Whatever [capability] they don't have, they can turn to their proxies or buy or rent." To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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