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On Tuesday, intelligence agencies from the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands issued warnings about Iranian spyware targeting dissidents living abroad through digital surveillance campaigns. The advisories highlighted a malware family called "CHOSEN BRICK," used by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security to steal sensitive information via phishing attacks on platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram. These actions are part of ongoing efforts by Western intelligence agencies to alert the public about Iran's attempts to repress its critics through cyber operations, including recent incidents affecting Stryker medical devices and Minnesota water systems.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-15,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
The United States, Britain, and Netherlands have issued warnings about Iranian spyware targeting critics of the Iranian regime who live in the West. Intelligence agencies from these countries—FBI, Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), and the Netherlands’ AIVD—coordinated to issue advisories on this threat. Paul Chichester, director of Britain’s NCSC, stated that Iran uses digital surveillance to repress critics by stealing emails, messages, and accessing devices through a spyware family called "CHOSEN BRICK." This malware is reportedly used for "spear-phishing" attacks on messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram. The FBI warned that the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) uses this malware to gather intelligence and damage reputations against their targets.
Written for “Iranian Cyber Threats” on 2026-09-17,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it +0.35, but none of the 3 quote(s) it offered could be found in the article text, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 12077: no verified evidence · logged 2026-09-15
The United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands have warned that Iranian spyware is being used to hunt dissidents living in the West.
asserted
spyware → warn → West
Iran is “almost certainly” using cyber operations to target Iranian critics of the regime, intelligence agencies from the trio of countries cautioned on Tuesday.
asserted
agencies → use → Tuesday
In coordinated advisories, the FBI in the US, Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and the Netherlands’ AIVD intelligence service all repeated the same warning.
asserted
FBI → coordinate → warning
“The details of this cyber campaign reveal how Iran ruthlessly uses digital surveillance in pursuit of its aim to repress critics of the regime, stealing emails and messages and accessing devices,” said Paul Chichester, the director of Britain’s NCSC.
asserted
Chichester → reveal → NCSC
Chichester highlighted a spyware family known as “CHOSEN BRICK” that is allegedly used by Iranian state-linked cyber actors to steal sensitive information through “spear-phishing” campaigns on messaging platforms including WhatsApp and Telegram.
uncertain
that → highlight → WhatsApp
The FBI said that Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) was using the malware to “collect intelligence, conduct data leaks, and inflict reputational harm against their intended targets”.
asserted
Ministry → say → targets
The advice is a continuation of regular warnings issued by Western intelligence over Iran’s efforts to target dissidents abroad.
asserted
advice → issue → dissidents
In a warning issued in March, the FBI had described alleged MOIS efforts to use the malware to collect data on targets that was then posted online by a persona known as “Handala Hack.”
asserted
that → issue → Hack
That attack in March crippled the global networks of Stryker, one of the world’s largest medical device companies, with an Iran-linked hacking group claiming responsibility and warning it marked “the beginning of a new chapter in cyber warfare”.
asserted
it → cripple → warfare
The so-called Handala hackers also claimed to have gained access to the personal emails of Kash Patel, the director of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), sharing photographs and documents from the official online.
asserted
hackers → call → official
In July, US officials said a cyberattack on water systems in the state of Minnesota resembled the “Handala Hack”.
asserted
cyberattack → say → Hack
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