Sharp Increase in Cyberattacks on National Infrastructure Network

 

According to the PR of TIC:  in the expert meeting titled "Internet and the Future of Iran", which was held at the Ministry of ICT with the presence of government officials, representatives of digital platforms, economic experts, social activists, and media professionals, participants discussed the opportunities and challenges of current policies in cyberspace.

In the second panel of the meeting titled "Technology, Security, and the Future of Iran", Behzad Akbari, Deputy Minister, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO, referred to recent cyberattacks on the country's infrastructure network and said, "Over the past month, we have faced a massive wave of cyberattacks, including various types of DDoS attacks, widespread scanning, and intrusion attempts through vulnerabilities."

He added that during war time until the country had been under intense attacks, stating, “In some cases, the volume of these attacks reached 400 Gbps. Although we managed to mitigate them, about half of the cleaning process had to be done outside the country. This shows the intensity of attacks was double our internal capacity."

Akbari noted that the attacks originate both internally and externally, saying, "In the past 24 hours alone, 5,700 attacks from abroad and a large number of domestic infections have been identified, mostly caused by infected devices within the country."

He continued, "These attacks are fully organized and targeted; at times, attack traffic flows from 170 different countries toward Iran's infrastructure network. For instance, just two days before the outbreak of the Israel war, there was a significant surge in DDoS attacks."

He also pointed out a critical vulnerability in network security, "The shortage of skilled human resources is one of our weaknesses. A large wave of elite migration has caused many organizations to face a severe lack of cybersecurity experts. This is a global issue and stems from the fact that the training of professionals hasn’t kept pace with the speed of digital transformation."

The CEO also mentioned challenges such as the widespread use of insecure software, second-hand hardware due to sanctions, and the proliferation of VPNs, adding: "In such conditions, network contamination becomes an easier task."

Akbari emphasized the need to widely adopt cloud services to improve resilience, stating, “To overcome these challenges, we must upgrade the infrastructure for access to cloud services."

In conclusion, he stressed, "Today, the internet is a vital pillar of daily life and the economy. The damage caused by internet shutdowns or disruptions is far more extensive than in the past. We can no longer respond to complex current conditions with simple technical solutions like filtering or blocking. Internet shutdowns should only occur in critical situations and on a temporary basis. Decision-makers in this area must be held accountable."