Recently, more than 70 percent of Iran’s gas stations experienced major problems related to card readers.
Iranian authorities state on state television that this is due to cyber attacks against the card reader systems, which are causing trouble for the operators. The attacks are said to have been worst in the capital, Tehran.
Behind it all must be a hacker group with links to Israel.
A group that calls itself the Predatory Sparrow.
Employees at the gas stations eventually had to disconnect from the network to which the card readers were connected.
Everything had to be done manually, which led to long queues in front of the pumps.
Takes responsibility for X
Predatory Sparrow, also known as Gonjeshke Darande in persian, takes responsibility for the attack on Xformerly known as Twitter.
There they say that the sabotage came as a result of the aggression shown by Iran and its allies in the area recently.
They also inform that the action was carried out in a controlled manner which does not prevent the emergency services from doing their work.
The attack on the gas station’s card reader system is one of several that Israel and groups associated with the country are blamed for.
70 percent of Iran’s gas stations had major problems as a result of cyber attacks by hackers linked to Israel.
Foto: WANA NEWS AGENCY / Reuters
Attacks on nuclear facilities
In April 2021, the Natanz nuclear plant in Iran was subjected to an attack which led to a blackout.
The first message from the Iranian authorities was that the facility had been hit by an accident, later they changed their opinion to say that it was a terrorist attack.
Israeli and American sources then told The New York Times that it was all an Israeli operation, in which the country’s intelligence service Mossad must have played a central role.
The Natanz nuclear facility in Iran was attacked in 2021. Much then indicated that Israel was behind the attack.
Foto: Planet Labs Inc. / AP
Cyber attack on Israeli hospital
On the other hand, groups linked to the Iranian authorities are also working to weaken Israel’s ability to defend itself.
Israel’s National Cyber Directorate designated this week Iran and Hezbollah as responsible for a cyber attack against a hospital in northern Israel, which took place in November.
According to the Israeli authorities, the Ziv Medical Center in the north of Israel, just a few kilometers from Lebanon, has been hacked by Agrius, which is said to have links to Iran.
The Israelis say that the aim of the attack was to prevent the operation of the hospital.
Thus hindering the hospital’s ability to care for wounded soldiers from the conflict taking place in the Israeli-Lebanese border areas.
The smoke hangs heavily over the Lebanese village of Meiss El-Jabal after Israeli attacks, 20 December 2023. In the background you can see the Israeli settlement of Manara.
Photo: – / AFP
Agrius is said to have managed to steal information from more than 300,000 patient records, which they subsequently published online
In addition, another hacker group, Cedar, which has links to Hezbollah, is said to have contributed to the attacks against the computer systems of the hospital.
May create less trust in authorities
– They attack there to make states more vulnerable. What is attacked depends on the type of actor who attacks.
That’s what Hanne Eggen Røislien, special adviser at the Defense Staff, says.
– It is difficult to imagine a war today that does not include an element of cyber warfare, says Hanne Eggen Røislien, special adviser at the Defense Staff.
Photo: Ruth Synnøve Barsten / NRK
She mentions, among other things, hospitals, communication networks, petrol stations that enable transport, and systems linked to water supply as possible targets.
– An attack against such areas could weaken a state’s authorities, she says.
Røislien says that cyber attacks can also be done to create division between the people and the authorities.
– Such attacks contribute to weakening the trust the population has in their authorities that they are able to protect them, she says.
– Is this the future of warfare?
– I would rather say that this is modern warfare. This is happening now. It is difficult to imagine a war today that does not include an element of cyber warfare.
Not unknown to Israel
Røislien says that cyber security is a major area of focus in Israel. Israel has been subjected to a series of extensive cyber attacks.
She mentions special days such as when the Palestinians mark the Nakba and the Israelis mark their national day, when cyber attacks against Israel increase.
– Israel is not unfamiliar with cyber attacks.
2023-12-23 12:18:26
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