Sweden Uncovers Iran Hacked SMS Service to Send Messages on Koran Burnings

(Bloomberg) - Sweden uncovered an Iranian hacking operation to send text messages in a bid to sow fear in the Nordic country.

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Swedish prosecutors concluded Iran was behind 15,000 text messages sent on Aug. 1, 2023, according to a statement on Tuesday. The messages sought to sway recipients to exact revenge on people burning Islam's holy book after a number of such incidents in Sweden, saying "those who insulted the Koran must pay."

The cyber attack came at a tense time. Sweden's application to join defense alliance NATO was in the balance following a number of public Koran burnings that sparked outrage in parts of the Muslim world, and angered Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who held the keys to Sweden's accession to the bloc.

"The investigation shows that the Iranian state, through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC, hacked a Swedish company that operates a major text-messaging service," senior prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said in a statement. "The purpose was to increase tensions and fuel existing conflicts between different groups in society."

Two weeks after the messages were sent, Sweden raised its terror threat level to four on a five-point scale, and in October that year, two Swedish football fans were murdered in a terrorist attack Brussels. While investigators were able to identify the Iranian hackers, the probe has been dropped as they cannot be charged in Iran or brought to Sweden to face trial.

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