Security News > 2020 > January > Iran May Respond With Cyberattacks to Killing of Qassem Soleimani
Iran's response to the recent U.S. airstrike that killed Qassem Soleimani, a senior Iranian military commander, could include cyberattacks, and organizations should be prepared to prevent and respond to attacks, cybersecurity professionals have warned.
Tensions between the United States and Iran escalated following Soleimani's death and Iran has vowed revenge.
Although Iran possesses highly capable cyber operational forces, we believe the most likely targets of cyber attacks remain US and partner interests regionally.
Since the agreement and despite the erosion of relations between Iran and the US, Iran has restrained similar activity to the Middle East.
"It is almost a foregone conclusion that we will now see retaliatory cyber attacks on US assets by Iran. The very nature of asymmetric warfare means that Iran has very little to lose by doing so: cyber warfare is now being treated as a force multiplier by smaller nations against much more powerful nations like the United States. The US will have to decide is additional escalation is justified if and when Iran decides to attack back in the fifth domain."