Iran says it thwarted ‘extensive, complex’ cyberattack on its infrastructure

TEHRAN, Iran

Iran said Monday that it thwarted “an extensive and complex" cyberattack on the country's communications infrastructure and averted potential damage.

In a statement posted on X, Behzad Akbari, the chief executive officer of the state-run Telecommunication Infrastructure Company (TIC), called it "one of the extensive and complex cyberattacks against the country's critical infrastructure," without divulging details of the attack or its origin.

He added that the cyberattack was identified and thwarted by the security and technical teams of the TIC and the Ministry of Communications.

According to a report by the Telecommunication Infrastructure Company, cited by local media, more than 101,000 cyberattacks against the country’s infrastructure were identified and neutralized in recent months.

These attacks mainly targeted critical services such as banks and telecommunications networks and involved over 5,000 hours of continuous countermeasures.

On average, 1,130 attacks were detected daily, and some attacks, with traffic exceeding 100 gigabytes, highlighted the intensity of the cyber threats, reports said.

In recent years, anonymous local and foreign hacker groups have extensively targeted public and private enterprises in Iran and most of these attacks have been thwarted successfully, according to officials.

Among the major attacks was one on the Foreign Ministry's information website in May 2023. The ministry, however, stated at the time that it had prevented any leaks of documents or databases.

In December 2022, a significant cyberattack targeted Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran, causing flight delays.

In October 2021, a massive cyberattack disrupted gas stations across Iran, severely affecting fuel distribution. Authorities said the attack was intended to "disrupt people's lives."

Cyber warfare between Iran and Israel has become increasingly common in recent years, with both sides reportedly engaging in covert cyber operations without publicly acknowledging them.

Iran's nuclear facilities have also been frequent targets of cyberattacks over the years.