Iran Arrests 30 Accused Of U.S.-Backed 'Cyberwar'

Twenty-nine Websites hacked to prevent further espionage, government says

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Iranian security forces say they have arrested 30 people and disabled "the most important U.S.-backed organized networks of cyber war launched by anti-revolutionary groups."

A report issued by the FARS news agency in Iran states that the networks received U.S. aid "and served Washington through such anti-revolutionary groups as the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO), monarchist groups, and a number of other opposition groups."

Some 29 Websites were "hacked" by Iranian security in order to find the accused, according to the reports. The Iranian government accused the sites and their operators of conducting a clandestine espionage effort under cover of human rights initiatives.

The network of sites was accused of collecting information about Iran's nuclear program and "provoking sedition" against the Iranian government.

The networks were also accused of distributing some 70 million copies of U.S.-made anti-filtering software in Iran.

No details were released on the identities of the sites or how they were hacked.

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Tim Wilson, Editor in Chief, Dark Reading

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Tim Wilson is Editor in Chief and co-founder of Dark Reading.com, UBM Tech's online community for information security professionals. He is responsible for managing the site, assigning and editing content, and writing breaking news stories. Wilson has been recognized as one of the top cyber security journalists in the US in voting among his peers, conducted by the SANS Institute. In 2011 he was named one of the 50 Most Powerful Voices in Security by SYS-CON Media.

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