A new study of Iran’s cyberactivities, to be released by Norse, a cybersecurity firm, and the American Enterprise Institute, concludes that the clerical regime has greatly increased the frequency and skill of its cyberattacks, even while negotiating with world powers over limits on its nuclear capabilities, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.
Frederick W. Kagan, who directs the institute’s Critical Threats Project said: “Cyber gives them a usable weapon, in ways nuclear technology does not.” “And it has a degree of plausible deniability that is attractive to many countries,” he added.
According to the Times report, Mr. Kagan argues that if sanctions against the Iranian regime are suspended under the proposed nuclear accord, Iran will be able to devote the revenue from improved oil exports to cyberweapons.
“The evidence from the Norse report, along with analyses by American intelligence agencies, strongly suggests that Iran has made much greater use of cyberweapons over the past year, despite international sanctions,” the Times wrote.
“The report, and a similar one from Cylance, another cybersecurity firm, make clear that Iranian hackers are moving from ostentatious cyberattacks in which they deface websites or simply knock them offline to much quieter reconnaissance. In some cases, they appear to be probing for critical infrastructure systems that could provide opportunities for more dangerous and destructive attacks.”