The US Department of Justice announced on Thursday that it has shut down several websites used by Iran for "psychological operations," to target critics of the regime and to distribute terrorist propaganda.
According to the Department of Justice, the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security used these pages to post data stolen during cyberattacks, including in Albania some time ago, and to incite the assassination of journalists, dissidents and Israelis, writes CNN.
One of the portals was linked to "Homeland Justice" which attacked Albania, while the Department of Justice described the news published there as Iranian propaganda.
Attorney General Pam Bondi warned: “Online terrorist propaganda can incite violence in the real world,” while FBI Director Kash Patel added: “The FBI will pursue any actor behind these cyber threats and attacks and will use the full force of American law against them.”
The seizure of the sites comes a week after two attacks in different American cities: one at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, and another at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan. Both are being investigated as acts of terrorism.
The Justice Department said the seized pages posted photos, names and sensitive information about 190 people connected to the Israeli government, along with threats and warnings. The pages were also involved in other cyberattacks and calls for the assassination of Iranian individuals.
“The actors on these sites directed online threats against individuals who publicly criticized the Iranian government,” the Department said in a statement. The aim of these campaigns was to “impede independent reporting” and instill fear among members of the Iranian diaspora critical of the regime.
