Iran Accused For Hacking Bahrain Government Website

By Author: Apple Tan
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Iranian hackers are waging a daily campaign against Bahrain government websites, it has emerged. Over the weekend, the Housing Ministry's website became the most recent target.
However, hackers failed to carry out this criminal act. Authorities have fended off cyber attacks on websites belonging to the Interior Ministry and Bahrain News Agency, a senior official told the GDN yesterday on condition of anonymity.
"We have tracked down some of the Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and found they were linked with Iran and some even with the outlawed group Hezbollah," said an official from the Information Affairs Authority's (IAA) Publications and Press Directorate. "There are also some Iranians in Europe targeting our websites."
The state-run Bahrain News Agency said Iranian computer hackers tried to access the official website of the Housing Ministry in attempts to seek data on aid recipients. The report gave no other details, but it could be linked to Shiite allegations that a disproportionate share of housing aid goes to Sunnis.
The latest political salvos by Bahrain's Sunni rulers are likely to deepen ...
... tensions with Shiite power Iran, which has been sharply critical of the kingdom's crackdown on Shiite protesters demanding more freedoms. Bahrain and other Sunni Arab leaders in the Gulf accuse Iran of meddling in their affairs and seeking gains from the region's unrest -- a charge Iran denies.
Iran has denounced Gulf leaders for dispatching a Saudi-led military force to prop up Bahrain's monarchy and try to quell the protests by Shiites, who comprise 70 per cent of the population but are excluded from key government and security posts.
According to the official, the hackers first started to hit websites in Bahrain during the unrest and then stopped. "But since last week, they are active again. We have the latest technologies to counter these attacks by all means and are successfully stopping hackers on a daily basis," the official added.

Bahrain authorities have recorded all IPs that are being used by hackers that target government websites and are awaiting permission to file official complaints against them. The official said that some websites were calling for violence or Jihad in Bahrain. "We know for a fact these calls are made by hackers in Iran and Pakistan, spreading their message of violence or calling for Jihad against GCC troops in Bahrain," the official said. "At the moment we are on standby round-the-clock, monitoring all online content and blocking it if it violates rules and regulations," he added.
To retaliate, the Bahrain Chamber for Commerce and Industry called for a countrywide boycott of all Iranian goods and services because of “blatant interference in Bahrain’s domestic affairs and threats to the kingdom’s national security.” The chamber also appealed for other nations in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council to join the proposed embargo.
“It will be great support for the GCC countries as they deal with the relentless onslaught from Iran to divide their societies and spread sedition, discord and divisions,” the chamber said in a statement carried by the Bahrain News Agency. The GCC includes Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates.
Since Iran has been accused of multiple recent attacks including, reportedly, one on the Voice of America, Iran already has a dedicated cyber warfare organization up and running. It is known as Iran's Cyber Army, and information on Iran's Cyber Army is still not conclusive.  Iran established the army of cyber hackers in response to a series of online attacks in 2010. These attacks were said to have badly hit the country's nuclear enrichment site at Natanz.
The number of cyber attacks is only going to increase if governments and organizations fail to pay attention to the vulnerabilities of their network security. They need to implement robust information security initiatives, including having a proficiently skilled IT security workforce, in order to avoid cyber crimes. IT security professionals can increase their information security knowledge and skills by embarking on advanced and highly technical training programs.
EC-Council has launched the Center of Advanced Security Training (CAST) to address the deficiency of technically proficient information security professionals. CAST will provide advanced technical security training covering topics such as advanced penetration testing training, Digital Mobile Forensics, Cryptography, Advanced Network Defense, and advanced application security training, among others. These highly sought after and lab-intensive Information Security training courses will be offered at all EC-Council-hosted conferences and events, and through specially selected authorized training centres.

About EC-Council
The International Council of E-Commerce Consultants (EC-Council) is a member-based organization that certifies individuals in cybersecurity and e-commerce. It is the owner and developer of 20 security certifications, including Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH), Computer Hacking Forensics Investigator (CHFI) and Certified Security Analyst /Licensed Penetration Tester (ECSA/LPT). 
EC-Council’s Center for Advanced Security Training (CAST) was created to address the need for highly technical and advanced security training for information security professionals. CAST programs stand out from others thorough their extreme hands-on approach. CAST offer programs that cover important domains such as advanced penetration testing training, malware analysis, advanced social engineering, cryptography, digital forensics deep dive, and web application security training, among others.
EC-Council has trained over 90,000 security professionals and certified more than 40,000 members. Its certification programs are offered by over 450 training centers across 84 countries. These certifications are recognized worldwide and have received endorsements from various government agencies including the U.S. Department of Defense via DoD 8570.01-M, the Montgomery GI Bill, National Security Agency (NSA) and the Committee on National Security Systems (CNSS).