Iran foils cyber attack on industrial units, media say

Iran says it has successfully repelled a new cyber attack on the country's industry. Officials compared it to the "Stuxnet" virus, discovered in 2010, which had dealt a serious blow to Iran's nuclear programme.

By News Wires (text)

Iran has repelled a fresh cyber attack on its industrial units in a southern province, a local civil defence official said on Tuesday, accusing "enemies" of nonstop attacks against its infrastructure.

"A virus had penetrated some manufacturing industries in Hormuzgan province, but its progress was halted with ... the cooperation of skilled hackers," Ali Akbar Akhavan said, quoted by the ISNA news agency.

Akhavan said the malware was "Stuxnet-like" but did not elaborate and that the attack had occurred over the "past few months."

Stuxnet, tailored specifically to target Iran's uranium enrichment operation, struck Iran in 2010 and reportedly dealt a serious blow to its disputed atomic programme.

Akhavan said one of the targets of the latest foiled attack was the Bandar Abbas Tavanir Co, which oversees electricity production and distribution in Hormuzgan and adjacent provinces.

He also accused "enemies" of constantly seeking to disrupt operations at Iran's industrial units through cyber attacks, without specifying how much damage had been caused.

The Islamic state has blamed the US and Israel for cyber attacks in the past. In April, it said a voracious virus attack had hit computers running key parts of its oil sector and succeeded in wiping data off official servers.

Tehran is at odds with Washington and its allies which fear Iran's nuclear activity is aimed at developing nuclear weapons. But Iran says its programme is solely for peaceful purposes.

The US and Israel do not rule out military action against the Islamic state if diplomacy fails to stop its controversial nuclear activity.

(AFP)