FBI Director Christopher Wray confirmed Wednesday that Iranian government-backed hackers tried to target a children's hospital in the United States, noting that they backed off their plan as soon as Americans learned of it.
"In the summer of 2021, Iranian government-sponsored hackers tried to carry out one of the most hateful cyberattacks I've ever seen," Ray said in a speech at Boston College on cyber threats. When they tried to target Boston Childers Hospital."
He said U.S. authorities have received a tip from an intelligence partner that the hospital is about to be attacked.
"CyberSquad from our Boston office was quick to warn the hospital. Immediately, we were able to help him identify the threat and then reduce it."
Ray did not provide details about which branch of the Iranian government was behind the threat, nor did he say how the attack would have affected the hospital if it had been carried out.
He said the cyberattack, which he described as "disgraceful," endangered the services provided to patients at this renowned hospital.
In his speech, Ray warned of the growing threat of cyberattacks on U.S. companies and infrastructure, sponsored by countries such as Iran, Russia and China.
Ray said the FBI is working hard to deal with Russian threats related to the war in Ukraine, saying it was able to deter a potentially devastating attack on U.S. companies and institutions by military intelligence services last March.
"We expect their cyber activities to become more disruptive because they continue to achieve bad results in the war."
According to him, China is considering the conflict in Ukraine to extract information that would help in its own war on the Internet.
He said the Chinese are "trying to figure out how to improve their ability to deter us or harm us as part of an attack on Taiwan."