A high-ranking Iranian minister says his country is bracing for more damaging cyber attacks by the United States, Israel and Britain.
”Based on obtained information, the US and the Zionist regime along with the MI6 planned an operation to launch a massive cyber attack against Iran’s facilities following the meeting between Iran and the P5+1 in Moscow,” Iranian Intelligence Minister Heidar Moslehi told the government controlled Press TV. “They still seek to carry out the plan, but we have taken necessary measures.”
Moslehi’s comments were made just weeks after Tehran publicly acknowledged a series of crippling cyber attacks against its lucrative oil industry.
The virus in question was subsequently identified as “Flame” by international security researchers.
According to the Washington Post, the virus – coded by Israel and the United States – collected intelligence in preparation for a sophisticated campaign of “cyber-sabotage,” with the goal of slowing Teheran’s ability to develop a functional nuclear weapon.
Indeed, the complex malware managed to secretly map and monitor Iran’s computer networks, transmitting a “steady stream” of intelligence back to its human handlers. Unsurprisingly, Flame has been categorized as one of the most subversive pieces of malware ever created, as it is capable of replicating across highly secure networks while controlling day-to-day functions without detection.
Masquerading as a routine Microsoft software update, the malware activated computer microphones and cameras, logged keyboard strokes, took screen shots, extracted geolocation data from images, and sent and received commands and data via Bluetooth.
However, Iran’s Minister of Communication and Information Technology Reza Taqipour recently claimed Tehran had managed to control Flame and beat back its digital advances.
“Fortunately, our country’s experts have identified Flame, produced an anti-virus for it immediately and provided the governmental bodies with it,” Taqipour said on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting. “The Islamic Republic of Iran was the first country which discovered it (the Flame) and produced its anti-virus… Its main supporter is the Zionist regime and certain western countries have also supported it.”
