--- title: "Microsoft attributes the cyberattack on Charlie Hebdo to Iranian state forces" description: "An Iranian cyber team responded in January after the French satirical publication Charlie Hebdo sponsored a cartoon competition to ridicule Iran." author: "Anonymous User" published: 2023-02-06 canonical: https://www.mindstick.com/news/2778/microsoft-attributes-the-cyberattack-on-charlie-hebdo-to-iranian-state-forces category: "news" tags: ["microsoft", "cybersecurity", "news"] reading_time: 3 minutes --- # Microsoft attributes the cyberattack on Charlie Hebdo to Iranian state forces [**Microsoft**](https://www.mindstick.com/blog/124744/microsoft-hololens-2-as-big-as-apple-big) security researchers allege a state-backed Iranian cyber team responded to Charlie Hebdo's cartoon contest by hacking and leaking an extensive subscriber database to instil fear. \ According to a [blog](https://www.mindstick.com/developersection/blog) post released by the [tech](https://www.mindstick.com/services/technologies) giant on Friday, the FBI holds the same Iranian cyberterrorist, Emennet Pasargad, accountable for a campaign that aimed to influence the 2020 U.S. [presidential election](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/51260/why-was-the-presidential-election-of-2008-considered-historic). \ Iran has recently increased its cyber operations under false pretences to tarnish adversaries. \ According to Microsoft's Digital Threat Analysis Center, a group going by the name 'Holy Souls' and posing as hacktivists claimed to have acquired [personal data](https://www.mindstick.com/forum/158146/what-are-some-of-the-ethical-concerns-surrounding-the-collection-and-use-of-personal-data-in-it) on 200,000 members and purchasers of Charlie Hebdo products in early January. \ [**ALSO READ: 4 Major tips to speed up MS Outlook according to experts at Microsoft outlook support number**](https://www.mindstick.com/blog/124769/4-major-tips-to-speed-up-ms-outlook-according-to-experts-at-microsoft-outlook-support-number) \ The 200-record sample, which 'may put the magazine's subscribers in danger for online or physical targeting' by extremists,' was made public by 'Holy Souls' as evidence of the data theft. \ It contained the names, phone numbers, homes and email addresses of Charlie Hebdo subscribers. The group then advertised the purported data cache for $340,000 on several dark websites. \ \ Microsoft claimed that it was unaware of any cache purchases. \ - On Friday, a Charlie Hebdo spokeswoman stated that the publication would not comment on the Microsoft study. The Iranian representative waited to answer the UN's Friday request for comment. \ - The Charlie Hebdo cartoon contest issue was published on January 4 at the same time as the sample release. Participants were instructed to create derogatory caricatures of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader. \ - According to Microsoft, the French daily Le Monde confirmed multiple victims of the leak from the sample. Through fictitious French 'sock-puppet' accounts on [social networking](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/32304/how-does-social-networking-affect-privacy) sites like Twitter, the Iranian cybercriminals hoped to spread the word of the hack-and-leak operation and incite anger over the cartoon edition, according to Microsoft. \ - The action co-occurred as verbal tirades from Tehran denouncing Charlie Hebdo's 'insult.' The provocatively satirical publication has a long history of running crude caricatures that detractors find highly offensive to Muslims. \ - Charlie Hebdo has been the target of several attacks throughout the years, including the 2015 office attack by two al-Qaida fanatics of French descent that claimed the lives of 12 cartoonists. \ - The publication described the Khamenei caricature [competition](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/23460/5-ways-you-can-use-competition-to-your-benefit) as an expression of support for the widespread anti-government demonstrations that have erupted across Iran since the mid-September death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman detained by Iran's morality police for allegedly disobeying the nation's strict Islamic dress code. \ Mahsa was accused of breaking the code by the morality police. \ After the cartoon controversy was made public, a decades-old French research facility was shut down in Iran. It announced sanctions last week against more than 30 European people and organisations, including three senior Charlie Hebdo employees. \ The [restrictions](https://www.mindstick.com/news/2343/a-handbook-for-social-media-parental-restrictions) on travel to Iran and the ability for Iranian officials to close bank accounts and seize property make the sanctions primarily symbolic. \ Regardless of one's opinion on Charlie Heb do's editorial decisions, Microsoft stated that the disclosure of personally identifiable information about [tens of thousands](https://yourviews.mindstick.com/view/86374/imminent-volcano-eruption-iceland-shaken-by-tens-of-thousands-of-tremors-in-one-week) of its customers constituted a severe threat. --- Original Source: https://www.mindstick.com/news/2778/microsoft-attributes-the-cyberattack-on-charlie-hebdo-to-iranian-state-forces Copyright © MindStick Software Pvt. Ltd. This Markdown version is provided for developers, AI systems, and offline reading.