Security News > 2021 > July > Details Emerge on Iranian Railroad Cyberattack
More details on the cyberattack on Iran's railroad system emerged over the weekend.
According to Iran International, "The number might belong either to the office of President Hassan Rouhani or Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. It is not clear if hackers have posted the information or the authorities." It would be reasonable to assume that the attack was at least partly designed to embarrass the incoming new hardline president, Ebrahim Raisi, before he takes over from the moderate Hassan Rouhani next month.
Neither Israel nor Iran have baulked against attacking critical infrastructures in the Middle East.
On Sunday July 16, 2021, Iran International reported further details on the railroad attack from "An information security office at the presidential administration." The attackers apparently penetrated the system in early June, and had been preparing the payloads from late June onwards.
While the attack may have been to embarrass the incoming president, it could simply have been a reprisal attack in response to continuing Iranian cyberattacks against other countries.
In May 2021, Sentinel Labs reported that the Iranian state backed Agrius group had deployed wiper attacks masquerading as ransomware against Israeli targets.