CISA, FBI, NSA, and International Partners Release Advisory on Iranian Cyber Actors Targeting Critical Infrastructure Organizations Using Brute Force

Today, CISA—with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National Security Agency (NSA), and international partners—released joint Cybersecurity Advisory Iranian Cyber Actors Brute Force and Credential Access Activity Compromises Critical Infrastructure. This advisory provides known indicators of compromise (IOCs) and tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) used by Iranian actors to impact organizations across multiple critical infrastructure sectors.

Since October 2023, Iranian actors have used brute force and password spraying to compromise user accounts and obtain access to organizations in the healthcare and public health (HPH), government, information technology, engineering, and energy sectors.

CISA and partners recommend critical infrastructure organizations follow the provided guidance, as well as ensure all accounts use strong passwords and register a second form of authentication.

For more information on Iranian state-sponsored threat actor activity, see CISA’s Iran Cyber Threat Overview and Advisories page. Visit CISA’s Cross-Sector Cybersecurity Performance Goals for more information on the CPGs, including more recommended baseline protections.