Security News > 2023 > February > Microsoft: Iranian Nation-State Group Sanctioned by U.S. Behind Charlie Hebdo Hack

An Iranian nation-state group sanctioned by the U.S. government has been attributed to the hack of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in early January 2023.

Two Iranian nationals have been accused for their role in the disinformation and threat campaign.

Microsoft's disclosure comes after a "Hacktivist" group named Holy Souls claimed to be in possession of the personal information of more than 200,000 Charlie Hebdo customers, including their full names, telephone numbers, and home and email addresses.

"After Holy Souls posted the sample data on YouTube and multiple hacker forums, the leak was amplified by a concerted operation across several social media platforms," the Windows maker's Digital Threat Analysis Center said.

"This amplification effort made use of a particular set of influence tactics, techniques, and procedures DTAC has witnessed before in Iranian hack-and-leak influence operations."

"These hack-and-leak campaigns involve a combination of hacking / theft of data and information operations that impact victims via financial losses and reputational damage," the agency added.

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https://thehackernews.com/2023/02/microsoft-iranian-nation-state-group.html