Cyberattacks Hit Iranian Transport Ministry, State Railway

The website of Iran’s Roads and Urban Development Ministry went down on Saturday, one day after the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways company suffered a cyberattack, according to the country’s Islamic Republic News Agency. On Friday, hackers disputed train service, posting fake delay and cancellation notices at stations throughout the country. The agency said the cyberattacks were under investigation but did not point a finger at any suspected culprit, and no one took responsibility for the attacks. In the past, the Iranian government has blamed the United States and Israel for cyberattacks, and a number of Western countries have said Iran has targeted their networks. Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi on Saturday warned that the Iranian government could be vulnerable to ransomware attacks. In 2019, a server error caused delays in the country’s train service. The Telecommunications Ministry reported that in December 2018, it defeated a massive cyberattack on the Islamic Republic’s “electronic infrastructure.”