Technology Cyberwar with Iran: How vulnerable is America?

The U.S. airstrike in Baghdad that killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani on Friday will likely lead to retaliatory cyberattacks against America, security authorities say.

That means the power and electricity you use, the smart devices you carry and your bank accounts could be more vulnerable than ever to bad actors looking for revenge.

Cries of ‘Revenge Is Coming’ at Funerals for Slain Commanders in Iraq

BAGHDAD — As Iraq held joint funeral services on Saturday for two revered military leaders killed in an American drone strike near the Baghdad airport this past week, tens of thousands of pro-Iranian fighters marched through Baghdad, waving flags and chanting that “revenge is coming” to the United States. The surprise killing on Friday of Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, the architect of Iran’s regional security strategy, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a powerful Iraqi militia commander and government official, threatened to shift fault lines across the Middle East.

Cyberwar with Iran : How vulnerable is America ? On Saturday, the Department of Homeland Security warned Americans that Iran is capable of launching cyberattacks with “temporary disruptive effects” against critical U.S. infrastructure, though it had “no information indicating a specific, credible

An illuminated billboard depicting Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani in Tehran on Sunday.Credit Arash Khamooshi for The New York Times.

The U.S. military attack on Iran will "generate some significant response from the Iranians and that response could very well come in the form of a major cyberattack,” said Jamil N. Jaffer, vice president at IronNet Cybersecurity, a startup that helps nations defend against advanced digital threats.

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A cyber conflict between the U.S. and Iran has been silently raging for years, with hacking attempts from the Middle East being made every single day. But now that the government has taken out one of the most powerful figures in Iran, an influx of hacking attempts is expected.

"Maybe they’ll double," said Oded Vanunu, a leading vulnerability researcher at Check Point. "There will be many more cyberattacks in a short time. Most of which will target online services."

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Pompeo, Esper, Milley and Haspel are expected to face questions about the administration's assertion that Soleimani was planning imminent attacks.Members of Congress initially sought Wednesday's closed-door briefings to learn more about President Donald Trump's surprise decision last week to authorize a drone strike that killed Gen. Qasem Soleimani, Iran's second most powerful official.

Iranian military leaders know that a violent cyberattack on civilian targets would likely result in serious retaliation from the United States and its allies. When Iran first retaliated for Soleimani’s death, for instance, it appeared to pick U.S. military targets in Iraq that did not result in any casualties, effectively

Demonstrations in Iran last year and signs of the regime’s demise raise a question: What would the Authoritarian regimes are always vulnerable because they are illegitimate. There will always be loyalists that The utility of strategic cyberwar is linked to the institutional stability of the targeted state.

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Products that connect to the internet are inherently hackable, and since most consumer-focused tools these days connect to a network, hackers in Iran can go after some of the largest and most widely used services in the country.

Private-sector corporations, which include banking, health care and energy services, would be the primary targets, according to Paul Martini, co-founder of the network security platform iBoss.

In the worst-case scenario, Iranian hackers "could instantaneously shut down an entire power grid," Martini said. "It’s not just the lights, it’s also the internet which shuts down communication systems. Without shooting a single bullet or missile, you can shut down an entire county or nation."

And even if Iran's hacking capabilities aren't sophisticated enough to fully undermine the U.S., high-ranking officials could bribe advanced hackers from around the world with bitcoin, Martini said.

Trump calls for new nuclear deal while bashing old one with misinformation

President Donald Trump called for a new nuclear deal with Iran while bashing old one with misinformation.It's an often-repeated line from him, but there was one change in U.S. policy Wednesday: Trump called for other world powers to abandon the nuclear accord, which is barely surviving after he withdrew the U.S. in 2018 and Iran has unraveled its cooperation since 2019.

For Iran , the motive may be hidden in plain sight. There has been a growing frequency of Israeli strikes on Iranian assets and weaponry, and Iranian or Iran -backed fighters, overwhelmingly inside Syria. Cyber -retaliation targeting critical civilian infrastructure in Israel is one way for Tehran to strike back.

Iran has launched a major cyber counter-offensive on US targets, attacking major Wall Street institutions, Reuters news agency sources report. Now most people are taking them very seriously," a source told Reuters.Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase experienced unexplained website

Big cities like Atlanta, Boston and New Orleans have been crippled by various forms of cybersecurity attacks in recent history.

In the past few years, the Trump administration has issued a series of cyberattacks against Iran. Iran and hackers in general have gotten more sophisticated in orchestrating attacks on interconnected computing systems over time.

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"It is known that the United States is not as cyber secure as it should be," said Adam Levin founder of the cybersecurity platform CyberScout. "We haven't made the investments that we need to make or the training that we need to. We are sitting ducks."

It's important to remember that cyberattacks have low success rates, as a 2019 RAND study points out. The study also found that most Iranian cyber operations appear more focused on retaliation rather than serving a coercive purpose.

Are you vulnerable?

Still, the million-dollar question remains: How can you protect yourself?

Financial institutions have fraud prevention methods baked into their networks, and many can patch vulnerabilities through updates so, there is some level of security out there.

Even with a cyberwar in the air, expert guidance for internet security remains the same as always.

Use secure passwords. Save hard copies of information and write down phone numbers rather than relying on internet connectivity or devices.

"Go back to basics," Martini said. "It’s not doomsday prep where you have to build a footrace or bomb shelter but store important information so if you were to lose digital access, you would still be able to function in day-to-day life."

Follow Dalvin Brown on Twitter: @Dalvin_Brown.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Cyberwar with Iran: How vulnerable is America?