United States government officials and employees appear to remain clueless on how to protect themselves from cyber attacks. In recent years, various government agencies have suffered from massive cyber attacks believed to have been launched by hackers from outside the U.S.

Social media accounts of various government employees have been compromised by suspected Iranian hackers thorough the use of spear phishing methods. Fortunately, Facebook was recently able to detect the suspicious activities of their accounts and alerted the victims, according to The Verge.

Like Us on Facebook

The New York Times reported that hacking skills of the Iranians is yet to be on par with the Russians or Chinese but the frequency and intensity of their attack is now becoming a concern.

Iran reportedly believes that spying on the United States and its allies through cyberspace is unlikely to trigger a military confrontation between the two countries.

Tehran started a major cyberespionage campaign against the United States in 2014 when hundreds of its nuclear centrifuges were allegedly damaged by the Stuxnet virus, which was believed to be jointly created by the U.S. and Israel.

Most of those targeted by the phishing scheme are members of State Department, specifically those who are assigned on Iranian and Middle Eastern affairs. Investigation revealed that the hackers sent emails to their targets and tried to dupe their victims into giving their Facebook and email accounts.

The victims never realized that their accounts were hacked until Facebook alerted them with a pop message stating that their accounts may have been attacked by hackers.

Gaining access to a victim's social media credentials and email information can enable hackers to gather more information on other people connected to that account.

Iran is suspected of launching a number cyberattacks that included crashing down the websites of several U.S. banks and disrupting the computer operations of a casino at Las Vegas.

American intelligence officials believe, however, that the scale of the cyberattacks launched by the Iranians are not that serious enough to derail the nuclear accord signed by the two countries in which Tehran has agreed to get rid of its nuclear centrifuges. Representatives from the International Atomic Energy Agency reported Iran is currently complying with the deal.

TagsIranian hackers, Tehran cyberattack, Stuxnet, Iran hacks U.S., state department hacked, fb phishing apps, spear phishing, Iran Cyber Attack on US