For the past six month or so, researchers in Recorded Future’s Insikt Group have been dissecting the structure of cyber operations groups within the Islamic Republic of Iran. In recent years that nation has regularly used offensive cyber campaigns in response to sanctions or other provocations. On May 8, 2018, President Trump announced the U.S. will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, leading to concerns that Iran is likely to respond with cyberattacks on Western businesses.

Levi Gundert joins us once again to provide context to the situation. He’s one of the authors of a newly published report from Recorded Future, titled, “Iran’s Hacker Hierarchy Exposed.” The report describes a culture of distrust and a tension between the desire for technical capabilities versus religiosity.