Security News > 2020 > January > U.S. Girds for Cyber Threats From Iran as Military Clash Fears Ebb
Iran is widely expected to ramp up cyberattacks against the United States in response to the US killing of a top Iranian leader this month even as fears have receded about a military confrontation between the two countries.
While Iran appeared to be "Standing down" from a military response, according to US President Donald Trump, the cyber threat remains real, said analysts.
"Cyber is the easiest way Iran can have a direct effect on the US homeland," said Jon Bateman, a former Pentagon intelligence official who is a cyber policy fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
The Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin last week warning of the potential cyber threat, citing "Iran's historic use of cyber offensive activities to retaliate against perceived harm."
Iran knows the US may respond either with cyber or conventional methods, according to Bateman, and are cognizant of the Stuxnet malware which is believed to have been a US operation to damage Iran's nuclear capabilities.