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A group of hackers linked to Iran have interrupted BBC and a host of other European TV streaming services in Britain, the United Arab Emirates and Canada, Microsoft stated in a report earlier this month, noting a marked acceleration of Iranian cyber attacks since Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel. The programming was interrupted with a fake news report on Gaza featuring graphic images and what appeared to be an AI-generated anchor – the first time Iran has used AI in this way in its influence operations.
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According to the American IT giant, the hacker attack took place in early December and underscored “the fast and significant expansion in the scope of Iranian operations since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict”.
The fake news broadcast focused on Israel’s operations in Gaza and was accompanied by a banner that read: “We have no choice but to hack to deliver this message to you.”
The AI news anchor then went on to present graphic – and unverified images – of Palestinians, including women and children, allegedly killed or injured by Israeli forces in Gaza.
“I was watching BBC News around 10.30 pm when the programme was abruptly disrupted, and instead, harrowing visuals from Palestine appeared on my screen. I watched transfixed as my screen froze, and a message from the hacker popped up in all caps against a green background. This was immediately followed by a news bulletin presented by an AI anchor. It was surreal and scary,” a Dubai resident told Khaleej Times.
Another user interviewed by the same newspaper recounted how she was unable to shield her children from the graphic images that suddenly popped up on the TV screen.
“Every channel we switched to displayed the same content,” she said.
In its February 8 report, Microsoft’s Threat Analysis Centre (MTAC) said the…
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Source : france24
