Iran says it’s foiled major ‘organized’ attack on government servers
Iran is investigating what it says is a foreign spying malware attack on government servers, according to state media.
The country’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, said the “organized” and “very big” attack was intended to obtain government information, state-run Press TV said on Sunday.
Jahromi said the attack was identified and thwarted by the country’s “security shield,” according to Press TV.
The announcement comes days after Iran claimed it had thwarted another cyberattack launched by a foreign government. Jharomi said Wednesday the country had defused a massive cyberattack on unspecified “electronic infrastructure” without providing further details on the attack.
And in June, Jahromi also reported an unsuccessful American cyberattack against the country’s missile control system. “They try hard, but they have yet to carry out a successful attack,” he said at the time, as quoted by Press TV.
Two US officials with knowledge of the matter told CNN in June that the US Cyber Command had launched a retaliatory cyberstrike against an Iranian spy group. The cyberattack’s goal was to attack the communications network of Kata’ib Hezbollah, an Iranian-sponsored Shia militia group.
The US Defense Department declined to comment on the June attack. “The US Central Command declines to comment on any potential cyberattack,” said Capt. William Urban, spokesman for the command which oversees military operations in the Middle East.
