Arabic version: وكالات غربية تحذر من برمجيات تجسس إيرانية تستهدف المعارضين

According to Al Jazeera, the United States, United Kingdom and Netherlands have warned that Iranian spyware is being used to pursue dissidents living in Western countries. Intelligence agencies from the three countries said Iran was “almost certainly” using cyber operations to target Iranian critics of the regime.

Coordinated advisories from the FBI, Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre and the Netherlands’ AIVD intelligence service issued the same warning. Paul Chichester, director of Britain’s NCSC, said the campaign showed how Iran uses digital surveillance to repress critics, including by stealing emails and messages and accessing devices.

Chichester highlighted a spyware family known as CHOSEN BRICK, which Iranian state-linked cyber actors allegedly use to obtain sensitive information. The activity involves spear-phishing campaigns on messaging platforms including WhatsApp and Telegram.

The FBI said Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security was using the malware to collect intelligence, conduct data leaks and inflict reputational harm on intended targets. The warning follows earlier Western intelligence alerts about alleged Iranian efforts to target dissidents abroad. In March, the FBI described alleged MOIS attempts to collect data that was later posted online by a persona known as Handala Hack.

That month, an Iran-linked hacking group claiming responsibility for an attack said it had crippled the global networks of medical device company Stryker and called it the beginning of a new chapter in cyber warfare. The so-called Handala hackers also claimed access to the personal emails of FBI Director Kash Patel. In July, US officials said a cyberattack on water systems in Minnesota resembled the Handala Hack.