Iran Accused of Involvement in Cyber Attacks on British Parliament Members' Emails

British media reported on Saturday, October 14, that Iran was involved in cyber attacks last June targeting the email accounts of some members of the British Parliament. This report was based on unpublished assessments from British intelligence. The Guardian noted that the Times of London was the first to publish this report, but later the Guardian was able to independently verify its accuracy. Initially, these attacks were attributed to Russia and North Korea, but according to these media outlets, the evidence suggests Iran's involvement. The perpetrators of this attack sought access to accounts with weak passwords. The hacked accounts, despite prior recommendations, had weak passwords. The Daily Telegraph and Independent reported that the attacks lasted 12 hours and over 90 emails were hacked. According to the Daily Telegraph, attempts to breach the emails affected a network consisting of 9,000 email accounts. The motivation behind these attacks is unclear, but the Daily Telegraph claimed that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps uses cyber warfare to undermine Iran's nuclear agreement with six world powers. Britain is among the countries advocating for the preservation of this agreement and has advised the U.S. not to exit the JCPOA. A spokesperson for the UK's National Cyber Security Centre, a government body to counter such attacks, responded that it is inappropriate to comment on ongoing investigations. The cyber attacks on the British Parliament on June 23 targeted the accounts of several representatives, including Prime Minister Theresa May. The internet network attacked is used by representatives to communicate with their constituents. A security source at that time told the Guardian, 'This was a ruthless attack and appeared to be state-sponsored. The nature of cyber attacks is so notorious that it is difficult to attribute an incident to a specific actor.' In recent years, American officials and internet security companies have reported an increase in Iran's cyber capabilities and have periodically accused Tehran of involvement in such attacks against economic and industrial centers in the U.S., European countries, and Gulf monarchies. Two Japanese and Israeli cybersecurity companies reported in early August that Iranian-linked cyber espionage groups, active over the past four years, target various countries including Israel, Saudi Arabia, Germany, and the U.S. The Associated Press also reported in September that hacking computer networks, such as cyber attacks on Saudi Arabia suspected to be Iranian, or leaking emails in countries that are apparently allies, has heightened fears of state-sponsored cyber attacks among Gulf countries. In this context, Iranian cyber spies 'use simple but effective methods.'