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Cyberwarfare is a part of the Iranian government's "soft war" military strategy. Being both a victim and wager of cyberwarfare,[1] Iran is considered an emerging military power in the field.[2] Since November 2010, an organization called "The Cyber Defense Command" (Persian: قرارگاه دفاع سایبری; Gharargah-e Defa-e Saiberi) has been operating in Iran under the supervision of the country's "Passive Civil Defense Organization" (Persian: سازمان پدافند غیرعامل; Sazeman-e Padafand-e Gheyr-e Amel) which is itself a subdivision of the Joint Staff of Iranian Armed Forces.[3]
According to a 2014 report by Institute for National Security Studies, Iran is "one of the most active players in the international cyber arena".[4] In 2013, a Revolutionary Guards general stated that Iran has "the 4th biggest cyber power among the world's cyber armies."[5][6] According to a 2021 report by a cyber-security company, "Iran is running two surveillance operations in cyber-space, targeting more than 1,000 dissidents".[7]
As of 2024, Iran's cyber activities have advanced, particularly in their precision and intelligence-gathering capabilities, allowing for more accurate and targeted attacks against Israel. Following directives from Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei after the October 7 attacks, cyber operations expanded, including joint efforts with Hezbollah. Despite these advances, Iran's cyber capabilities still fall short of Israel's, with Iranian hackers' skills being likened to those of mid-level organized crime gangs. However, Israeli officials remain concerned that Iran could rapidly enhance its capabilities, particularly through potential cooperation with Russia.[8]
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Cyberwarfare is the use of cyber attacks against an enemy state, causing comparable harm to actual warfare and/or disrupting vital computer systems.[9] Some intended outcomes could be espionage, sabotage, propaganda, manipulation or economic warfare.
There is significant debate among experts regarding the definition of cyberwarfare, and even if such a thing exists.[10] One view is that the term is a misnomer since no cyber attacks to date could be described as a war.[11] An alternative view is that it is a suitable label for cyber attacks which cause physical damage to people and objects in the real world.[12]
Many countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Russia, China, Israel, Iran, and North Korea,[13][14][15][16] have active cyber capabilities for offensive and defensive operations. As states explore the use of cyber operations and combine capabilities, the likelihood of physical confrontation and violence playing out as a result of, or part of, a cyber operation is increased. However, meeting the scale and protracted nature of war is unlikely, thus ambiguity remains.[17]
The first instance of kinetic military action used in response to a cyber-attack resulting in the loss of human life was observed on 5 May 2019, when the Israel Defense Forces targeted and destroyed a building associated with an ongoing cyber-attack.[18][19]Iranian cyber defense system - digital fortress part of national information network (national internet) - is developed for thwarting attacks and engaging attackers.[20] In November 2022, the Iranian Majlis Islamic Consultative Assembly recommended a Passive Defence Incorporation.[21]
In June 2010, Iran was the victim of a cyber-attack when its nuclear facility in Natanz was infiltrated by the cyber-worm 'Stuxnet'.[22] Reportedly a combined effort by the United States and Israel,[23] Stuxnet destroyed perhaps over 1,000 nuclear centrifuges and, according to a Business Insider article, "[set] Tehran's atomic programme back by at least two years."[24] The worm spread beyond the plant to allegedly infect over 60,000 computers, but the government of Iran indicates it caused no significant damage. Iran crowdsourced solutions to the worm and is purportedly now better positioned in terms of cyber warfare technology.[22] No government has claimed responsibility for the worm.[24] The cyber-worm was also used against North Korea.[citation needed]
Events
- In October 2013, media reported Mojtaba Ahmadi, who served as commander of the "Cyber War Headquarters" was found dead wounded by bullets in Karaj.[25]
November 2018: The Iranian telecommunication minister Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi accuses Israel of a failed cyberattack on its telecommunications infrastructure, and vows to respond with legal action.[26][27]- October 2021: An attack paralyzed gas stations across the country, preventing users from purchasing fuel using state-issued cards and digital billboards displaying antigovernment messages
- In September, October and November 2022, Iranian state networks and emails came under attack by Anonymous and other hacking groups acting in solidarity with Iranian protestors.[28]
- In the year 2023 several government ministries were fully hacked by multiple people including Ministry of Science research and technology on September 23.[29][30][31] Veterans affairs[32] Ministry of foreign affairs(50TB)[33] Central Insurance and 19 subsidiary corporations(119 million lines records)[34][35][36] City of Tehran municipality , State news bulletin[37] National Civil Registration vital records organization database(20TB)[38] Atomic Energy Organization[39] Presidency[40] Ridesharing company Tapsi was hacked as well.
- December 2023 seventy percent of entire national Iranian fuel pumps taken out, Predators Sparrow took responsibility[41]
- January 2024 Snapp was hacked with records of 80 million Iranians along with payment info sold.[42]
- In 2024 February
- Islamic Consultative Assembly was hacked revealing massive payment to members.[43][44]
- Russian hackers attacked Iranian embassy.[45]
- 3000000 court penal cases of Iranian Judicial system hacked and put online.[46]
- Anonymous reportedly extracted 14 GB of data out of a Malek-Ashtar University of Technology server belonging to Ministry of Defense.[47]
- US military attacked two Iranian intelligence vessels at Red Sea.[48]
- May 2024 Iranian regime was getting hammered with huge scale cyberattacks causing internet issues [49]
- June 2024 Islamic culture and guidance's ministry Haj.ir taken out , source code and database hacked by IRleaks team, it included pilgrim and civil travel records since 1980s[50]
- Ministry of Science hacked.[51]
The Iranian government has been accused by Western analysts of its own cyber-attacks against the United States, Israel and Persian Gulf Arab countries, but denied this, including specific allegations of 2012 involvement in hacking into American banks.[24] The conflict between Iran and the United States has been called "history's first known cyber-war" by Michael Joseph Gross in mid-2013.[52]
2010-2020
- August 2014: An IDF official told the press that Iran has launched numerous significant attacks against Israel's Internet infrastructure.[53]
31 March 2015: There was a massive power outage for 12 hours in 44 of 81 provinces of Turkey, holding 40 million people. Istanbul and Ankara were among the places suffering blackouts. According to Observer.com, Iranian hackers, possibly the Iranian Cyber Army, were behind the power outage.[54]
June 2017: The Daily Telegraph reported that intelligence officials concluded that Iran was responsible for a cyberattack on the British Parliament lasting 12 hours that compromised around 90 email accounts of MPs. The motive for the attack is unknown but experts suggested that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps could be using cyberwarfare to undermine the Iran nuclear deal.[55]
2022
- January 2022: The website of Israel's Jerusalem Post newspaper and the Twitter account of Maariv newspaper are hacked by suspected Iranian hackers. The website's content was replaced with a threat to target the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center, and an apparent reference to Qasem Soleimani who was assassinated exactly two years earlier in Baghdad, Iraq.[56][57]
- March 2022: Large-scale cyberattacks were launched against multiple Israeli government websites, allegedly by Iran as retaliation for failed Mossad operations, though neither the attack attribution nor the purported Mossad operations could be confirmed as of March 2022. The National Cyber Directorate declared a state of emergency as a result of the attacks and unnamed defense sources told media outlets it was possibly the largest-ever cyberattack against Israel.[58][59]
November 2022: Iranian hackers attacked Albanian networks.[60][61]
November: seventeen American networks system were turned into mining crypto because of existing undefended vulnerability.[62]
2023
- Moneybird ransomware was used by Agrius against Israeli people.[63] Cyberattack on Israeli university was blamed on Iranian ministry of intelligence.[64] Attacks attributed to Iranians targeted Israeli ports and Haifa harbors.[65]
- Disinformation en masse sponsored by state targeted Iranians in 2023.[66]
- In August 2023, Germany's Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution reported that hackers linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeted Iranian regime opponents in Germany, using fake identities to conduct cyber espionage.[67]
- Sophos and Zimperium report Iranian citizens credentials hacked by Iranian hackers, with Firebase, C2 (C&C) iOS, Android malware apps called Bank Saderat, Central Bank and Bank Mellat.[68]
- In November 2023, Ziv Hospital in Safed, Israel, reported a cyber breach of its computer systems. An Iranian-linked hacking group subsequently claimed to have obtained 500 gigabytes of patient information.[8]
- In late November 2023, the Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania experienced a cyberattack by pro-Iran hackers who breached its industrial equipment, including a system managing water pressure.[69]
- In December 2023, a cyberattack by hackers linked to Iran disrupted the water supply in a rural area of County Mayo, Ireland, leaving about 160 households without water for two days.[70]
- December 14, 2023 ESET documented OilRig group which is state sponsored use C&C attacks.[71]
2024
- In February 2024, OpenAI announced that it had shut down accounts used by the Crimson Sandstorm hacking group. The group had been using OpenAI services to research evasion techniques, write and refactor code, and create phishing campaign content.[72][73]
- April 2024 Israel secrets published by Iranian website,[74]
- In June 2024, Iranian-backed hackers, identified as Mint Sandstorm (also known as Charming Kitten or APT35), targeted a high-ranking official from a U.S. presidential campaign with a spear-phishing attack. The hackers used a compromised email account to send a malicious link.[75]
- July 2024 MuddyWater increased the cyber attacks in the Middle East.[76]
- On August 9, 2024, Microsoft reported that Iran has intensified its interference in the US elections by launching fake news sites and conducting hacking attempts. According to a Washington Post report, Iranian-operated news networks, such as Nio Thinker and Savannah Time, aim to polarize American voters by promoting extreme viewpoints. Microsoft also detailed a spear-phishing attack conducted by Iranian hackers targeting a US presidential campaign. This group used a compromised email account to attempt unauthorized access to sensitive information. Another Iranian group also managed to breach an account belonging to a county government employee in a swing state.[77]
- In September 2024, U.S. authorities revealed that Iranian hackers had accessed and distributed stolen information from Trump's campaign to individuals linked to Biden's re-election effort, aiming to disrupt the election. Despite Iran's denial of involvement, officials suggested the intent was to erode public confidence in the electoral process.[78]
- Also in September 2024, Swedish authorities revealed that a cyber group called Anzu, operating under Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), were responsible for hacking into a Swedish text messaging service in July 2023, taking over passwords, usernames and other tools, and sending thousands of messages calling Swedes "demons" and bearing instructions to exact vengeance upon Koran burners. Iran denied the accusation, though the investigation by the Swedish Prosecution Authority managed to identify the individual hackers responsible for the data breach. In a statement by Justice Minister Gunnar Stromme it was said that the goal was to destabilise Sweden or increase polarisation, and the security service warned that Iran is among those seeking to create division and bolster their own regimes.[79][80][81]
Iranian armed forces install malware apps for espionage on Android phones.[82] They could steal victims identity according to Microsoft.[83]
On May 5, 2020, Reuters reported, quoting a monthly Facebook report, that Iranian state-run media had targeted hundreds of fake social media accounts to covertly spread pro-Iranian messaging, online since at least 2011, for secretly broadcasting online promotional messages in favor of Iran in order targeting voters in countries including Britain and the United States.[84] Accounts were suspended for coordinated inauthentic behavior, which removed eight networks in recent weeks, including one with links to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting.[84]
- Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Cyber Security Command
- Ashiyane
- List of cyber warfare forces
- Iranian Cyber Army
- Iran Cyber Police
- Communications in Iran
- Monica Witt
- Hybrid warfare against Iran
- Iran Mission Center
- Alleged operations and malware against Iran
- Alleged operations and malware by Iran
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