US hackers warn the world: ‘Don’t mess with our elections’

Networks around the world have been attacked by hackers who have left an image of the US flag on screens with the warning ‘Don’t mess with our elections’.

Some 200,000 router switches were affected in the widespread attack, including 3,500 switches in Iran, as well as data centres in Europe, India, China and the US, according to a statement from the Iranian IT minister Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi.

The attack, which also hit internet service providers and cut off web access for some users, was made possible by a vulnerability in routers manufactured by Cisco.

A warning and patch had been issued by the manufacturer at the start of the year, but some firms had failed to install it.

Cisco has come out saying it is “taking an active stance” and warning customers once again of the increased risk and available solutions.

Iran’s computer emergency response body MAHER has been accused by Mr Azari-Jahromi of showing “weaknesses in providing information to (affected) companies” after the attack.

The attack was neutralised within hours and no data was lost.