An Official from the Passive Defense Organization: Hackers Launch 10,000 Attacks on Iran Daily

The head of the Strategic Studies Center of the Passive Defense Organization stated that Iran faces '10,000' attacks from hackers daily. According to a report on Sunday (October 29), Hossein Hatami announced this figure at a provincial conference on passive defense held at the University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources in Sari. Mr. Hatami emphasized that given the volume of these attacks, attention to 'radiation defense in nuclear issues and biological defense in health and agricultural research' is essential. He did not provide details about these attacks or specify which institutions and sectors are targeted. However, the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization and entities related to the country's nuclear program have been identified as significant targets of international hackers in recent years. In this context, the American newspaper 'The New York Times' reported in June 2012 that delays in Iran's nuclear program were the result of a joint Israeli-American cyber attack, and the 'Stuxnet' malware had disrupted uranium enrichment in Iran. According to this report, 'Stuxnet' was initially tested at Israel's Dimona nuclear facility and had turned the Dimona nuclear reactor into a 'laboratory' for ensuring the malware's functionality for two years. In October 2016, the Associated Press reported that ongoing fires at Iranian petrochemical facilities raised suspicions of hacking and software sabotage. Iranian officials have established an organization called 'Passive Defense' to counter what they term 'biological attacks' and 'cyber attacks.' They claim that Iran has long been the target of various biological, cyber, economic, and environmental attacks and that the defensive systems against these threats need to be strengthened. On November 1 of this year, Gholamreza Jalali, head of the Passive Defense Organization, stated that no server of any social network with 30 million users should be located outside the country, calling this a 'national necessity.' Mr. Jalali had previously stated in July 2015 that 'while taking advantage of biotechnology opportunities in agriculture, such as genetic modification, we must also be vigilant about its threats.' He added that 'in the realm of passive defense, we are facing the issue of biological threats in agriculture, often referred to as 'agro-terrorism.' On September 2, 2014, Mahmoud Khosravi, Deputy Minister of Communications and CEO of the Infrastructure Communications Company, announced that '5 to 8 million attacks, attempts to attack, and suspicious cyber attack incidents are directed at Iran daily.' The head of the Passive Defense Organization in early July of that year reported the detection of about '50,000 deliberate cyber attacks' in 2013, accusing the U.S. and Israel of 'attempting to cyber-threaten Iran.'