iran

Google uncovers phishing campaign targeting Iranians

Google has detected what appears to be a spike in politically-motivated phishing attacks targeting Gmail accounts belonging to thousands of Iranians just days before a presidential election in the country.

The Web giant identified a "significant jump in the overall volume of phishing activity in the region" in the past three weeks originating from within the country. Eric Grosse, Google's vice president of security engineering, noted in a company blog post Wednesday that "timing and targeting of the campaigns" suggested political motivation ahead of Friday's elections.

Grosse explained how the campaign operated:

Our Chrome … Read more

U.S. lifts ban on computer exports to people in Iran

The U.S. government is easing sanctions that for more than two decades have prohibited companies from selling electronic devices such as computers, cell phones, and wireless routers to Iran.

The move, announced Thursday by the Treasury Department, allows U.S. residents to export electronic equipment to individuals but not to the Iranian government or "to any individual or entity on the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list." The SDN list is a compilation of individuals and groups with whom U.S. residents are prohibited from doing business, such as Al-Qaeda.

"The people of Iran should be able … Read more

Samsung to block app store access in Iran, AP says

Iranian device users will lose access to Samsung's mobile app store as of May 22, according to a new report.

The Korean electronics giant said, via an e-mail sent to smartphone and tablet users, that it couldn't provide access to the store because of "legal barriers," the Associated Press reported. Many sanctions have been imposed on Iran over its controversial nuclear program, and Samsung's step is viewed as the latest such move.

Samsung declined to comment.

The AP noted that "unlike Apple, Microsoft and Adobe, Samsung has provided localized services to Iranians in their … Read more

Eureka! Iranian scientist claims he's invented 'time machine'

There have been days recently when I would have liked to have been taken out of the present.

Anywhere would have done. Greece 2012. The moon 2034. The entrails of a whale, to chat with Jonah, the eighth century B.C.

Science seems to have been very slow to take us out of our place and time, despite the best efforts of Michael J. Fox.

I can reveal, however, that progress has finally been made. For an Iranian scientist has invented The Aryayek Time-Traveling Machine. Or, at least, he says he has.… Read more

Meet the 'Corporate Enemies of the Internet' for 2013

National governments are increasingly purchasing surveillance devices manufactured by a small number of corporate suppliers and using them to control dissidents, spy on journalists, and violate human rights, the advocacy group Reporters Without Borders warns in a new report released this afternoon.

The group's 2013 report for the first time names five private-sector companies "Corporate Enemies of the Internet" for their choice to become "digital mercenaries" and sell surveillance and censorship technology to authoritarian regimes.

"If these companies decided to sell to authoritarian regimes, they must have known that their products could be used … Read more

Iran cuts off 'illegal' VPN workaround to Internet filters

Iran has stepped up its efforts to deny its citizens unfettered access to the Internet, blocking a popular tool used to get around government blocks.

Quite aware of the censorship they face, many Iranians use proxy servers over virtual private networks to circumvent government restrictions and mask their activities. However, officials now say they have blocked use of the "illegal" tool.

"Within the last few days illegal VPN ports in the country have been blocked," said Ramezanali Sobhani-Fard, head of the Iranian parliament's information and communications technology committee, according to a Reuters story posted today. &… Read more

New Stuxnet whodunit: Malware existed two years earlier than anyone knew

Cybersecurity professionals -- especially in Iran -- woke up today to the latest twist in the history of cyberwarfare when researchers at Symantec said they discovered a version of the Stuxnet computer virus which predates by two years the cyber weapon that was used to sabotage Iran's main nuclear enrichment facilities.

The U.S. and Israel are widely believed to be behind Stuxnet, though neither country has claimed authorship publicly. (The New York Times reported that President George W. Bush initiated the attacks, a program which has continued in the Obama administration.) Stuxnet first came to public light for … Read more

Huawei CFO linked to attempt to sell HP goods in Iran -- Reuters

Huawei, the China-based telecom equipment maker that has come under fire in the past for alleged links to Iran, is once again under the microscope.

Reuters today published a report detailing evidence linking Huawei CFO Cathy Meng to a firm that has allegedly tried to sell U.S. company products to Iran-based firms.

According to Reuters, Meng, who is the daughter of Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, served on the board of a Hong Kong-based company called Skycom Tech between February 2008 and April 2009. In addition, Reuters found that a host of other people with varying ties to Skycom also … Read more

Iran: We sent a monkey into space -- and brought it back

Is the space race back on?

Iran officials today said that the country successfully launched a rocket, named Pishgam, or Pioneer in Farsi, into space, the Associated Press is reporting. Pishgam was carrying a monkey, according to state-sponsored TV, which safely returned back to land. The rocket achieved a height of 72 miles before coming back down.

Monkeys were commonly used by the U.S. and Soviet Union space programs in the 1950s for research. Other animals, including dogs, were also sent to space.

Whether Iran actually fired off a rocket today is unknown at this point. The country has … Read more