INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightGetty ImagesA group of hackers claiming to be from Iran hijacked a US government website and posted a pro-Iranian message on
Visitors to the Federal Depository Library Program's website on Saturday were met with a picture of a bloodied Donald Trump
An accompanying message declared hackers were acting in retaliation for the killing of Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani.There has
been no confirmation that the incident was Iranian state-sponsored
A now-deleted message told visitors to the website: "Martyrdom was (Soleimani's) reward for years of implacable efforts."With his departure
and with God's power, his work and path will not cease and severe revenge awaits those criminals who have tainted their filthy hands with
his blood and the blood of the other martyrs."The cyber-attack came just days after Iran vowed "crushing and powerful" retaliation for
Soleimani's assassination, and amidst analyst warnings of Iran-led cyber-attacks against the US
A spokesman for cyber-security agency Homeland Security said that it was "monitoring" the situation
"We are aware the website of the Federal Depository Library Program was defaced with pro-Iranian, anti-US messaging," it said in a statement
"The website was taken offline and is no longer accessible."The statement also recommended that all organisations increase their
cyber-monitoring and have an incident response plan in place
Jake Moore, cyber-security specialist at internet security company Eset, told the TheIndianSubcontinent that cyber-warfare presents a great
"The threat of cyber-warfare is sometimes more powerful than the actual destruction, meaning state actors and cyber-criminals will always
have the upper hand as we never really know what is possible," he said."The threat of the unknown can be so great that it impacts on aspects
such as share prices without anything even occurring."Cyber-political tensions are always hotly monitored, and for good reason, as a threat
to the power grid or waterworks would be catastrophic."Soleimani, 62, spearheaded Iranian military operations in the Middle East, and was
regarded as a terrorist by the US.The new head of Iran's Quds force - which Soleimani led - has claimed the country would begin efforts to
expel the US from the Middle East."We promise to continue martyr Soleimani's path with the same force and the only compensation for us would
be to remove America from the region," state radio quoted Esmail Qaani as saying.The US has advised its citizens to leave Iraq immediately
and has deployed 3,000 additional troops to the Middle East
