{"id":1668,"date":"2018-11-04T23:32:17","date_gmt":"2018-11-04T20:32:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/?p=1668"},"modified":"2018-11-04T23:47:46","modified_gmt":"2018-11-04T20:47:46","slug":"iran-admits-to-being-hit-by-potent-cyber-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/?p=1668","title":{"rendered":"Iran admits to being hit by potent cyber attack"},"content":{"rendered":"

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweets ‘Incredible series of coincidences. Or, a simple chronology of a Mossad program to kill the 2015 nuclear deal’; Israel remains silent on the matter.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Cyber-Warfare\"<\/a>

Exercises on cyberwarfare and security are seen taking place during the NATO CWIX interoperability exercise n 22 June, 2017 in Bydgoszcz, Poland. (Photo by Jaap Arriens\/NurPhoto via Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Iran\u2019s strategic computer and infrastructure networks reportedly fell under an extensive and powerful cyber-attack in the last several days, according to Israeli news reports on Wednesday. Analysts believe this attack is far more potent than the \u201cStuxnet\u201d virus, which hit Iranian networks in 2011.<\/p>\n

Gholam Reza Jalali, head of Iran\u2019s civil defense agency, told media outlets on Sunday that the government successfully neutralized \u201ca new generation of Stuxnet which consisted of several parts\u2026 and was trying to enter our systems.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\"Gholam<\/a><\/p>\n

Gholam Reza Jalali<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Iranians, however, did not reveal the extent of its damage. Israel, considered the Islamic republic\u2019s archenemy, has been silent on the matter.<\/p>\n

Eyal Wachsman, CEO of Israeli cyber-security company Cymulate, told The Media Line that \u201cIran has physically attacked civilian and military targets worldwide with bombs and guns, and in recent years, has taken the fight to the cyber world.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe US and Israel, masters of cyber warfare, are believed to have been behind counterattacks against Iran in the past, including the Stuxnet virus,\u201d Wachsman said. That virus sabotaged Iran\u2019s nuclear enrichment efforts by speeding up and damaging its centrifuges.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2012, the\u00a0Flame virus\u00a0was deployed targeting Iran\u2019s computer networks that collect intelligence, and Duqu 2.0 was used in 2015 during the nuclear talks. There were presumably additional attacks which have received little to no attention,\u201d Wachsman continued.<\/p>\n

After US sanctions against Iran come into full force on November 5, \u201cIran could feel cornered, and therefore might unleash a very severe cyber-attack, forcing the US and Israel to retaliate at the same level or possibly higher.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\"Iranian<\/a><\/p>\n

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The latest attack on Iran\u2019s networks comes on the backdrop of two earlier security-related developments involving the Islamic republic.<\/p>\n

A few hours before the attack, the\u00a0Mossad helped Danish officials thwart\u00a0an Iranian murder plot against three anti-regime Iranian dissidents living in Denmark.<\/p>\n

Two days before that, Iranian officials acknowledged that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani\u2019s mobile phone had been bugged by unknown hackers, the semi-official Iranian Students News Agency reported.<\/p>\n

In response to the bugging, Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged defense officials to step up counter-intelligence efforts against \u201cthe enemy\u2019s complex practices,\u201d according to a report on Iranian state TV. He also urged security bodies to \u201cconfront infiltration through scientific, accurate, and up-to-date action.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif sent out a tweet citing the recent sequence of events, claiming Israel was behind it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIncredible series of coincidences. Or, a simple chronology of a Mossad program to kill the JCPOA?\u201d he wrote, referring to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the\u00a0Iran nuclear deal.<\/p>\n

Asaf Romirowsky, a Middle East historian and Executive Director of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East, told The Media Line that in the last few months \u201cIsraeli intelligence was able to unearth 100,000 documents regarding Iran\u2019s nuclear ambitions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\"Iranian<\/a><\/p>\n

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif<\/span>\u00a0(Photo: Reuters)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The operation to infiltrate Iranian intelligence was part of ongoing attempts to prove what Iran has been doing despite its rhetoric of cooperation with European powers, which are trying to salvage the nuclear deal, Romirowsky explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Israelis showcasing their intelligence was key, because all along the debate\u2014especially when it comes to American foreign policy toward Israel\u2014was that Iran was not doing things under the table. But the Israelis uncovered actual data that proved the opposite. It was part of the tactic to show the world what Iran\u2019s true intentions were.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe latest attack in the cyber warfare taking place in the region is part of an effort to calm the region by whatever means necessary,\u201d Romirowsky concluded.<\/p>\n

Israel fiercely opposed the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, claiming that it was Iran\u2019s way of arriving at a nuclear bomb through cooperative means. Last May,\u00a0US President Donald Trump withdrew\u00a0from the accord and began reimposing economic sanctions on Tehran.<\/p>\n

\n

\"Netanyahu<\/a><\/p>\n

Netanyahu shows satellite images of precision missiles facility<\/span>\u00a0(Photo: AFP)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

As\u00a0Iran and European powers work to salvage the deal, Israeli officials claim that Tehran is still pursuing aggressive policies through covert operations. Earlier this year, the Mossad claimed to have extracted a vast archive of documents from Tehran that details Iran\u2019s nuclear ambitions.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu revealed\u00a0some findings from the stolen achieve at the UN General Assembly meeting in New York last September. He used graphics to pinpoint covert nuclear facilities inside Iran, Syria and Lebanon.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cWhat Iran hides, Israel will find,\u201d Netanyahu said during his address to the assembly.<\/p>\n

Source:<\/strong>\u00a0Article written by Terrance J. Mintner – The Media Line<\/a> – 03 November 2018<\/p>\n

ALI GAFFARI (QATAR, UAE, IRAN)\u00a0BY XAIRFORCES<\/a> Editor<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweets ‘Incredible series of coincidences. Or, a simple chronology of a Mossad program to kill the 2015 nuclear deal’; Israel remains silent on the matter. Iran\u2019s strategic computer and...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1669,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,1677,173,1728,1674,176,1,22,25,18],"tags":[2009,2008,2010,2002,2013,2006,1454,2012,2015,363,2011,242,2014,2007,2005,1044,2004,2003,786],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1668"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1668"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1668\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1673,"href":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1668\/revisions\/1673"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.xairforces.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}