Iranian cyber attack on EU MPs: Neumann raises the alarm!

Iranian cyber attack on EU MPs: Neumann raises the alarm!

Köln, Deutschland - The European Parliament has confirmed an Iranian espionage attack on German MEP Hannah Neumann. The cyber attack on Neumann's office shows clear similarities to techniques used by Iranian, state-supported cyber spy groups. The aim of this attack was probably the information acquisition, which prompted Neumann to express the suspicion that the attack is related to its commitment to human rights and democracy in Iran. The perpetrators seem to be connected to the hacker group "Charming Kitten", which presumably acts on behalf of the Iranian revolutionary guards. Neumann, who is currently heading the delegation for the relationships between Parliament to Iran, has also spoken out as a terrorist organization for the classification of the revolutionary guards.

Over a period of several weeks, the Hackergruppe in Neumann's office contacted under false identity and tried to install spy software via a link. Fortunately, Parliament's defense system prevented information from being spied on. The incident was reported by Neumann after the German Constitutional Protection had informed her about a possible attack. As a result, she alerted the parliament, which immediately initiated its own research. Parliamentary President Roberta Metsola condemned this attack and demanded increased vigilance on the part of parliamentary security services.

persistent threats from Iranian hackers

The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BFV) in Germany has been warning of an increase in cyber attacks on Iranian dissidents and organizations since the end of 2022. The attacks are often directed against journalists, lawyers and human rights activists, and the group behind these attacks, known under names such as Charming Kitten, apt35, Mint Sandstorm, TA453 and Yellow Garuda, shows progress in their methods. This group uses sophisticated social engineering techniques to build trust through fake online identities.

In the most recent incident, Iranian converting expert Mansour Sohrabi in Cologne was the goal of a similar attack. He received a supposed job offer via Instagram and was invited to an interview about messaging services. During the conversation, he clicked on a link, which led to compromising his computer. The attackers often left traces, including IP addresses from Iran, and are suspected of being involved in about 40 similar attacks in recent years.

The incidents illustrate the continued threat from Iranian hackers who also operate internationally. The security analysts, such as Mike Hart from Mandiant, confirm that the activities of Charming Kitten are heavily linked to the Iranian revolutionary guard. In view of the dangers, the BFV is now introducing increased security measures to protect the goals from further attacks.

These latest developments raise questions about the security of MPs and the need for targeted measures to protect human rights activists and other potential victims of cyber attacks. In connection with the attacks, the European Parliament itself pointed out that the dangers of such hacker groups have to be taken seriously.

Further information on these incidents and the methods of Charming Kitten can be found in the articles of sueddeutsche.de , Thehackernews.com and tagesschau.de .