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00:00OF GULLAH TECH ADVENTURES, PRIOR TO THAT HE WAS A HACKER FOR THE NSA. WITH ME IN THE STUDIO IS THE PROOF POINT EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT. RYAN, LET ME START WITH YOU. WHAT INCREASES HAVE YOU SEEN COMING FROM IRAN TARGETING THE U.S.? RYAN: WE HAVE SEEN THE CONTINUATION OF CAMPAIGNS AT THEY WERE ALREADY RUNNING. PERHAPS THE MOST INTERESTING THING WE SAW WAS WE SAW SOME OF THEM MOVE FROM DIPLOMATIC TARGETS, PUBLIC POLICY TARGETS AND GOVERNMENT TARGETS, THE CLASSIC INTELLIGENCE GATHERING ACTIVITIES, TO TARGETS OF CIVILIAN ORGANIZATIONS, PARTICULARLY LIFE-SCIENCES. EMILY: RON, WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE PATH OF LEAST RESISTANCE FOR IRAN TO DO THE MOST DAMAGE ON THE U.S.? RON: IRAN CAN TALK OR TARGET SOFT TARGETS, PEOPLE LIKE YOU AND ME, SMALL BUSINESSES AND CORPORATIONS. ANYBODY OUT THERE WHO IS THE GATE ABOUT PROTECTING THEMSELVES, THEY NEED TO THINK ABOUT THEIR CONNECTIONS TO THE CLOUD AND WHAT THEY CAN DO TO INCREASE CYBER HYGIENE. TAYLOR: YOU MENTIONED TO CIVILIAN TARGETS. A LITTLE BIT OF A SHIFT IN STRATEGY. WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHEN YOU SAY CIVILIAN TARGETS? RYAN: PRIVATE CORPORATIONS , INSTEAD OF NGOS OR POLICY ORGANIZATIONS, OR SOMETHING LIKE GOVERNMENT ENTITIES. WHEN YOU PUT YOURSELF IN THE SHOES OF THE IRANIANS, THEY ARE ABOUT THE DEAL WITH MUCH TIGHTER SANCTIONS. THEY HAVE TO PROVIDE THINGS LIKE ESSENTIAL MEDICINE TO THEIR POPULATION, SO IT WOULD MAKE SENSE TO TARGET LIFE SCIENCE GROUPS. TAYLOR: WHEN YOU LOOK AT SORT OF THE ACCESS TO U.S. UTILITIES, IS THAT SORT OF A VERY CLASSIC WAY IN WHICH THEY COULD DO HARM, CREATING CHAOS VIA A BLACKOUT FOR EXAMPLE? RYAN: THE RUSSIANS HAVE USED THAT PLAYBOOK AGAINST UKRAINE. THE IRANIANS, WE HAVE SEEN TARGETING UTILITIES OVER A FAIRLY EXTENDED PERIOD, AND THEY HAVE DONE DESTRUCTIVE ATTACKS. THAT HAS NOT TRANSLATED NECESSARILY INTO ACTUALLY TAKING POWER GRIDS OFF-LINE, THAT WOULD BE A DIFFERENT LEVEL OF EXPERTISE, BUT ALL THOSE THINGS ARE ON THE TABLE WHEN IT COMES TO PLANNING FOR DEFENDING. TAYLOR: RON, YOU SEEM TO TAKE A DIFFERENT POINT OF VIEW THAT PERHAPS WE WOULDN ' T SEE A MASS BLACKOUT TYPE OF SCENARIO. WHY DO YOU THINK THAT? RON: IRAN HAS MANY OPTIONS WHEN IT COMES TO TAKING ACTION IN CYBERSPACE. IF THEY DID SOMETHING LIKE ATTACK THE CITY OF BALTIMORE, THE CITY OF ATLANTA AND CLAIM CREDIT FOR IT, THEY WILL INVITE A STRONG RESPONSE FROM THE U.S. AND I DO NOT THINK THEY WILL DO THAT. HAVING SAID THAT, THEIR GOALS ARE GOING TO BE GATHERING INFORMATION AND INTELLIGENCE ABOUT U.S. POLICY. SO ANYBODY WHO IS A VENDOR FOR THE U.S. OR WORKING WITH THE U.S. GOVERNMENT, THEY ARE POTENTIALLY A TARGET AND THEY SHOULD BE GETTING A SECOND LOOK AT THEIR CYBER DEFENSES. TAYLOR: THAT BRINGS US BACK TO RYAN. AS THEY LOOK AT GOING BACK TO

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Iran Cyber Targets Shifted to Civilian Organizations, Says Proofpoint

Ryan Kalember, Proofpoint executive vice president of cybersecurity strategy, and Ron Gula, Gula Tech Adventures president, discuss the possibilities of a cyberattack by Iran on 'Bloomberg Technology. (Source: Bloomberg)

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