Iranian Hackers Target Energy and Airline Companies

An American cybersecurity firm based in California has announced that Iranian hackers have infiltrated major airline companies, as well as energy sector firms and defense institutions worldwide over the past two years, and the continuation of this trend could lead to significant material damage. According to Reuters, in an 87-page report released by the cybersecurity company 'Silence' on Tuesday, December 2, it is stated that if Iran's cyber activities are not curtailed, it won't be long before global non-cyber security is also at risk. This cybersecurity firm released this news while governments are busy assessing Iran's cyber capabilities, and researchers believe that Iran is rapidly increasing this capability. Reuters quotes researchers from this American company stating that over fifty institutions in sixteen countries have been targeted by Iranian cyberattacks. They claim that evidence shows all these cyberattacks were designed by a group based in Tehran that was also involved in last year's cyberattack on the U.S. Navy's internet networks. The report does not mention the names of the companies that were attacked, but it indicates that a wide range of major airline companies, large airports, aerospace companies, universities, energy production institutions, hospitals, and telecommunications lines in countries such as the USA, Israel, China, Saudi Arabia, India, Germany, France, the UK, etc., have been targeted by this group's cyberattacks. The cybersecurity firm claims to have information indicating that these hackers are Iranian, and the scale and complexity of their activities suggest that they are state-sponsored. Meanwhile, Hamid Babaei, the spokesperson for the Iranian delegation at the United Nations, dismissed these claims as baseless in an interview with Reuters. Mr. Babaei stated that these unfounded accusations have been fabricated to tarnish the image of the Islamic Republic of Iran and divert nuclear negotiations from their course. Recent research by the cybersecurity firm 'Silence' shows how governments can use technology for espionage and attacks against their rivals. Chinese and Russian hackers are accused of conducting attacks against certain companies, and the USA and Israel are also accused of using a type of computer worm to slow down Iran's nuclear activities. Since the Stuxnet virus targeted Iran's nuclear programs in 2010, the Iranian government has made significant investments in the cyber sector. It is said that this virus was designed by the USA and Israel. According to Reuters, the CEO of 'Silence' stated that Iranian hackers are currently focusing their efforts on information gathering but also have operational capabilities. He said that information obtained from the hackers' database shows that they have been able to breach the databases of major companies, stealing vast amounts of information from these companies. He emphasized that in the hackers' database, there are diagrams related to energy production plants, photos related to how to control security systems, the encryption key of one of the major Asian airline lines, as well as information that was stolen last year from the U.S. Navy by the same group. The recent report by 'Silence' is the latest report on Iran's cyberattack against American interests. A few months ago, another security company named 'FireEye' reported similar attacks by Iranian hackers on American interests. In this context, '50,000' cyberattacks on Iran were discovered last year, 'several malware' were found in Iran's nuclear facilities, and the Deputy Minister of Communications stated that 5 to 8 million cyberattacks occur daily against Iran. Six individuals were arrested in Isfahan on charges of 'immoral activities on the internet.'