Cyber Aftermath From The Airstrike On Syria’s Iranian Consulate

Uploaded on 2024-06-27 in INTELLIGENCE-Hot Spots-Iran, GOVERNMENT-National, GOVERNMENT-Defence, FREE TO VIEW

First Strike

Several Iranian commanders died as a result of the airstrike on the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital of Damascus on April 1st 2024, which was allegedly carried out by Israeli forces. Included amongst the dead were the senior commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Quds Force in Syria and Lebanon, General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, as well as General Mohammad Hadi Hajirahimi and five other military advisors.

Following the attack, Iran pledged to retaliate to the strike on its consulate in Damascus - but what role will cyberspace play as this Middle East saga draws out?

Strike Back

It is unlikely that Iran will launch a full-scale attack against Israel, given the latter’s alliance with the US, and Tehran likely seeking to avoid direct military engagements with Washington. However, recent statements from Iranian officials have indicated that there will be a response that will likely serve to protect its reputation among its allies within the Gulf region, whilst aiming to remain below the threshold of initiating hostilities with the US. This wouldn’t be the first time that the death of an Iranian Quds force commander has ignited relation efforts, as was the case with the ballistic missile attack by Iran against an Iraqi air base where US troops were stationed - a week after the death of the Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad in 2020.

The Bytes

We have assessed that based on historical trends, there is a realistic possibility that Tehran-aligned cyber actors will emerge to launch attacks on Israeli assets. Why? Because throughout the ensuing Israel-Hamas conflict, the concept of ‘hybrid warfare’ has materialized, a potent blend of kinetic and cyber operations that extends the battlefield beyond traditional geographic lines, seeping into civilian technologies, allies, and affiliates. This has sparked operational disruption, unleashing chaos and causing collateral damage, not just within the Middle East, but across the globe.

As we have followed the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict since the Hamas invasion on October 7, 2023, our intelligence gathering has revealed that Iranian state actors have leveraged this “hybrid warfare” strategy to fight its “Shadow War” against Israel. Implemented in a multi-phases approach, these campaigns have included: hack and leak efforts against Israeli assets, destructive wiper malware deployment, targeting of industrial control systems (ICS) and influence campaigns against pro-Israeli entities in an effort to sow confusion and to undermine support for on-the-ground operations.

External Forces

Since the Hamas invasion, Iranian state-backed militia groups in Lebanon, and Yemen, known as the “Axis of Resistance”, have coordinated attacks against Israel and allied entities, with operations falling short of provoking Israel into a full-scale war. Examples have included the Lebanon-based Hezbollah launching physical attacks across Israel’s northern border as well as the Yemeni Houthi Rebel Faction attacking Israeli-linked cargo vessels in the Red Sea.

In response to these growing Middle East tensions, we have assessed that there is a realistic possibility that Hezbollah cyber forces will resurface given the longstanding relationship between the Hezbollah secretary-general, Hassan Nasrallah, and the now deceased Brigadier General Zahedi, dating back to at least the 1990’s.

Hezbollah recently declared intent to escalate tensions on June 18th where the militant group published drone footage of sensitive military locations within Israeli territory, in a proclaimed “psychological warfare” effort.

With the potential for the Israel-Hamas conflict to expand into the territory of Lebanon, Hezbollah-backed cyber actors would likely target critical infrastructure sectors within Israel, as well as its supporting states within the wider Gulf region. This targeting would likely include government, energy, telecommunications, finance, healthcare, transportation and defense industries as well as emergency services.

Targeting

Cyberspace will almost certainly continue to exist as a second front for the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. Based on previous trends, any Iranian state-aligned cyber aggression accompanying the tensions will likely spill over into the energy, manufacturing, and healthcare industry verticals within Israel and its Western geopolitical allied states, such as the UK and the US, due to the presence of targeted Israeli-product lines, including Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs).

The Melee

The hacktivism landscape has also been intensified by the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. As the conflict has progressed, we have detected a notable development with Iranian state actors masquerading as hacktivists, subsequently claiming responsibility for attacks against Israeli critical national infrastructure (CNI) and air defense systems, such as the “Iron Dome”, blurring the lines between cyber activism and cyberterrorism.

As the conflict draws out, pro-Palestinian hacktivists will likely continue to launch distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks with greater intensity to propagate sentiment in solidarity with Tehran. Targets would likely include government websites, media outlets, transport hubs and energy infrastructure within Israel and its allied states.

Defense Strategies

Ensuring that software is up to date and prioritizing patching of known security vulnerabilities will be critical to bolstering operational resilience against Middle East-centered cyber threats.

For organizations relying on Israeli-made PLCs, we strongly advise that the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)1 recommended mitigation steps are adhered to. These include applying multi factor authentication (MFA) for access to operational technology (OT) networks, implementing a firewall and virtual private network (VPN) in front of the PLC to control network access, creating strong backups of the logic and configurations of PLCs to enable fast recovery, and keeping PLC devices updated with the latest versions by the manufacturer.

To combat hacktivist cyber threats, we strongly recommend that DDoS mitigation solutions are applied to defend against sudden network traffic surges as well as securing company assets, emphasizing websites which are the primary target for web defacement and DDoS attacks.

Sensitive data should also be safeguarded with encryption and regular security audits, whilst employees should be trained to detect markers of social engineering tactics to raise awareness and reduce the risk of hacktivist efforts.

Craig Watt is a Threat Intelligence Consultant at Quorum Cyber

Image: Ruma Aktar

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