Reports: Iranian hackers able to outsmart encrypted apps

Iranian hackers, most likely employees or affiliates of the government, have been running a vast internet espionage operation equipped with surveillance tools that can outsmart encrypted messaging systems — a capability Iran was not previously known to possess, according to two digital security reports released Friday.

The operation not only targets domestic dissidents, religious and ethnic minorities and anti-government activists abroad but also can be used to spy on the general public inside Iran, said the reports by Check Point Software Technologies, an internet security technology company, and the Miaan Group, a human rights organization that focuses on digital security in the Middle East.

The reports, which were reviewed by the New York Times in advance of their release, say the hackers successfully have infiltrated what were thought to be secure mobile phones and computers belonging to the targets, overcoming obstacles created by encrypted applications such as Telegram and, according to Miaan, even gaining access to information on WhatsApp. Both are popular messaging tools in Iran. The hackers also have created malware disguised as Android applications, the reports said.

A spokesperson for Telegram said the company was unaware of the Iranian hacker operation but that “no service can prevent being imitated in ‘phishing’ attacks when someone convinces users to enter their credentials on a malicious website.”

WhatsApp declined to comment.

The reports suggest significant advances in the competency of Iranian intelligence hackers. And they come amid warnings from Washington that Iran is using internet sabotage to try to influence U.S. elections. Federal prosecutors Wednesday identified two Iranian individuals they said had hacked into U.S. computers and stolen data on behalf of Iran’s government and for financial gain.

“Iran’s behavior on the internet, from censorship to hacking, has become more aggressive than ever,” said Amir Rashidi, director of digital rights and security at Miaan and the researcher for its report.

The hackers appeared to have clear goals: stealing information about Iranian opposition groups in Europe and the U.S. and spying on Iranians who often use mobile applications to plan protests, according to the Miaan report.