Iranian Hackers Attacked Websites of an African Bank and US Federal Library

According to Iran Briefing, hackers posing as Iranians targeted the websites of the Sierra Leone Commercial African Bank and the United States Federal Depository Library Program, by posting pro-Iranian remarks and graphics. 

The website of Sierra Leone Commercial Bank was found to be “H4ck3D IRANIAN HACKER” in Google search results. 

The words “hacked by Iranian hacker, hacked by shield Iran” were written in Twitter screenshots on a drawing of former IRGC Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a US airstrike. 

According to CBC News, the library program’s website was updated with a bloodied picture of US President Donald Trump being punched in the face, as well as a message is written in Farsi and English that read “martyrdom was Soleimani’s… reward for years of implacable efforts,” and another caption that read “this is only a small part of Iran’s cyber ability!” 

A spokesman from the US Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency verified the incident. Though the hack has still proven to be the activity of Iranian state-sponsored actors. 

The representative stated, “We are aware the website of the Federal Depository Library Program [FDLP] was defaced with pro-Iranian, anti-US messaging”. 

“At this time, there is no confirmation that this was the action of Iranian state-sponsored actors”. 

The website has been removed from the internet and is no longer accessible. In coordination with the FDLP and other government partners, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is keeping an eye on the situation. 

According to another senior US official, the defacement was a minor event carried out by Iranian sympathizers. Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo indicated at the time that a cyberattack by Iran against the US could be a possible retaliation. 

It’s unclear whether the hackers had a government position or had any connection to Iran. The hack occurs at a time when tensions between the US and Iran are still high following the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, the chief of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force, by a US strike in Baghdad on Jan. 2. 

Iran has already threatened retaliation for the assassination, implying that US assets and interests in the Middle East, as well as US allies, may be targeted.