Hackers leave Iran message from US: ‘Don’t mess with our elections’

Hackers attacked networks in various countries, including Iran, where they left a message warning against interference in U.S. elections, Reuters reported on Saturday.

The hackers left an image of the U.S. flag on screens of Iranian data centers with the message “Don’t mess with our elections,” the Iranian information technology (IT) ministry said, according to Reuters.

“The attack apparently affected 200,000 router switches across the world in a widespread attack, including 3,500 switches in our country,” the Communication and Information Technology Ministry said in a statement, which was reported by Reuters.

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According to the statement, the attack was possible because of a vulnerability in Cisco routers. Cisco had previously warned about the vulnerability and issued a fix that some firms had yet to install.

It is not yet clear who carried out the attack that Iran claims mainly affected Europe, India and the United States.

Iran’s IT Minister Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi said that about 55,000 devices were affected in the U.S. and 14,000 in China, according to Reuters. Iran made up 2 percent of the total affected devices.

The attack in Iran was reportedly addressed within hours and data wasn’t compromised, Reuters reported.