Iran upset by cyber espionage tied to US

Iran said Wednesday that it is concerned by new suggestions that the United States injected malicious code into its computers in a campaign of cyber espionage.

While not naming the United States, a spokeswoman for Iran’s foreign ministry suggested that Iran and other countries hit by the malware should discuss how to fight back.

{mosads}”The Islamic Republic of Iran pays great attention to this matter because we are one of the targets of [cyber] espionage,” said Marzieh Afkham in remarks reported by The Associated Press.

Iran is grappling with revelations that the United States may have injected its computers with highly sophisticated malware prior to their shipment.

Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab suggested the possibility in a report that revealed the presence of malware in the computers of more than 30 foreign governments, businesses and military units.

While the firm did not name the United States, it said one malicious program resembled the Stuxnet virus, a set of code purportedly developed by the U.S. and Israel to fight Iranian nuclear capabilities.

Several different methods were used to inject the malware, Kaspersky researchers said.

Some of the code was pre-installed in computers’ hardware. Some was transferred over the Internet or through USB thumb drives.

“Classic spying methods” were also used, according to the report. In one case, malware infected several computers through a compact disc sent to participants of an international science conference in Houston. The disc was sent by the sponsor of the event under the guise of distributing conference materials.

If the United States is indeed responsible for injecting the malware, the report provides a virtual playbook for intelligence agencies’ methods.

A spokeswoman for the National Security Agency declined to comment to the AP, which first covered the story this week.