The digital attack on gas stations in Iran, which disrupted computer systems at more than 4,000 stations across Iran and caused huge queues throughout the Islamic Republic, and which came at an interesting time a few days after the cyber attack at Hillel Yaffe Hospital in Hadera, raises some important question marks. Great about the identity of the attackers.
Announcement of gas station terminals in Iran,
What is the purpose of this type of civilian assault?
It is important to understand that this is an attack that does not physically harm people or facilities, but only disrupts the computer systems at the gas stations so that they cannot provide the service for which they are there.
This raises the likelihood that this is an attack whose purpose is primarily a psychological impact on the citizens of Iran, to create a state of antagonism towards the regime.
Guy Mizrahi
, a cyber expert, told Israel today that the attack in question is an organized and orderly attack that only a large intelligence organization backed by a state can carry out and the speculation that remains open in the context of this attack is whether it was a planned attack or an opportunity to infiltrate the computer systems.
Trucks with Iranian fuel, Photo: AFP
Regarding the type of attack, Mizrahi said that this type of attack is not intended for intelligence purposes, when he said it might have been better for the attacking country (which has already managed to enter the computer systems of gas stations) to gain intelligence about important elements refueling at a particular station. Key figures in Iranian nuclear or Iranian politics.
Ido Naor
, founder of Security Joes, which focuses on responding to cyber incidents, warned years ago about the danger of hacking into the computer systems of gas stations when he identified many loopholes in gas companies in Israel: "It probably happened by mistake and there are also stations in Israel that are connected to the same network.
An empty gas station in Iran after the cyber attack in October 2021, Photo: API
Naor explained to Israel today that a person who broke into such systems could easily change fuel prices, but when it comes to a large organization with large resources - the damage can also be much more severe.
"It is also possible to take control of the station to carry out terrorist acts, and in some cases even blow up stations that are in strategic locations such as military bases or city centers."
Added Naor.
Dr. Harel Manshari
, Head of Cyber at HIT Holon Institute of Technology and one of the founders of the GSS 'cyber system:
The attack here was carried out on Iran's gas stations and there is damage that disables the pumps and currently civilians cannot refuel.
The incident is very reminiscent of the cyber attack that shut down trains in Iran months ago.
In allusion to the fuel shipments that Iran is currently supplying to Lebanon, with a reference to the telephone number of the Supreme Leader's Bureau,
This is an interesting event, not everyone has the abilities to carry out such an attack, however it is difficult to point in one direction.
Iran has many enemies that are not just countries, including opposition groups that oppose the regime.
"It should be remembered that this morning the United States announced that it sees Iran as the main suspect in an incident in which an American base was attacked in Syria, and it is not inconceivable that it may be trying to send a message to Iran."
The extensive cyber attack comes less than two weeks after a cyber attack on Hillel Yaffe Hospital in Hadera.
In the past, Iran has accused Israel of carrying out a cyber attack on its port facilities in the southern city of Bender Abbas.
The port was shut down for three days.
Its source claims that the attack was in response to an Iranian attempt to sabotage Israel's water system.
The Tasman news agency reported that gas station owners had found a way around the crisis and returned to running the fuel pumps manually.
The news agency reported that special teams of the Iranian Ministry of Energy had been sent to the area to bring gas stations back into operation.
