Iran is working smartly to enhance its offensive cyber capabilities
Iran may not be best at honing its military and economic capabilities however it views its leadership in cyberspace. Iran views cyber capability as an asymmetric tool to damage its enemies and effectively gather intelligence on foreign governments, corporations, academic institutions.
In Last two years, a dozens of malicious cyber attacks happened and were attributed to Iranian actors believing to be Iran’s strategy to harass, contest, and punish its adversaries around the Middle East and the globe.
Few months ago, few secret documents revealed a layout plan for attacks that could sink a cargo ship or blow up a fuel pump at a gas station.
That also includes researched details about satellite communication devices used by the international shipping industry, as well as computer-based systems controlling the lights, heating and ventilation in smart homes.
Those five documents were secretly written by offensive unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) cyber command, Shahid Kaveh. This clearly portrays Iran’s interest to launch cyberattacks against Western countries, including Israel, the United States, Britain and France.
“Such reports are not a surprise, but they do indicate that Iran is working in a highly systematic manner,” said by Professor Col. (res.) Gabi Siboni, an expert on cyber security, military strategy and technology at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security.
Cyberspace has also provided a new and appealing domain for the Iranian military and intelligence services. Iran was surfaced as a key player in honing cyber capabilities, while other Middle Eastern countries like Egypt- Hacking Team, Saudi and UAE- NSO Group and Gamma International and Qatar- Global Risk Advisors (GRA) are still trying to build their cyber capabilities with the help of foreign firms.
