New Computer Attacks on U.S. Traced to Iran

American officials and corporate security experts examining a new wave of potentially destructive computer attacks striking American corporations say they have tracked the attacks back to Iran. The targets have included several American oil, gas and electricity companies. The goal is sabotage. Government officials describe the attacks as probes looking for ways to seize control of critical processing systems. A government official said that “most everything we have seen is coming from the Middle East.”

American officials describe the recent campaign as different from attacks against American companies from China which quietly siphon off intellectual property for competitive purposes. The new attacks were devised to destroy data and manipulate the machinery that operates critical control systems, like oil pipelines.

{Andy Heller-Matzav.com Newscenter}