The United States Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) has paralyzed military computer systems in Iran, according to the New York Times and the Washington Post. The attack on communications networks and a database of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards was therefore already on 20 June, in response to the launching of a US drone.
With the destruction of a database, were recorded in the ship movements in the Strait of Hormuz, the US government had in turn want to prevent further Iranian attacks on the shipping there. According to the newspapers, Iran is still working to fully restore its digital infrastructure. There is no confirmation from the Iranian side.
The US and Iran have long had an unofficial cyber conflict. Iran has seen regular attacks on US government networks and the digital infrastructure of US companies, according to the media report, citing anonymous US government officials.
Message to Iran
The officially unconfirmed US operation was, according to experts in the White House below the threshold of a warlike act to settle and an appropriate penalty for the launch of the US drone.
That the actually secret attack was publicly known through the newspaper reports can also be understood as a USCYBERCOM message to Iran that one sits in its networks. However, at least some of this access and thus a strategic advantage have been given up, experts from the New York Times said, because Iran will learn from it and improve its defenses.
In the past few weeks, there had been some sticky situations in the Strait of Hormuz. The US blamed Iran for various attacks on merchant ships in the sea area. The leadership in Tehran denied the allegations. According to the US Department of Defense, a military mission to protect shipping in the straits is already under way. In addition to the United States also involved Great Britain, Australia and Bahrain.
