Iran Escalating Clandestine Cyberwar Against US

Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visits the Natanz uranium enrichment facility on April 8, 2008 200 miles south of the Tehran, Iran. In retaliation for the US and Israel unleashing the Stuxnet virus on Iranian centrifuges, Iran stepped up development of its cyber warfare program, spending $1 billion on cyber warfare since 2011.

The 2010 Stuxnet attack on Iran’s nuclear program rattled the Islamic regime, which has poured $1 billion into a cyber warfare program over the past two years. Iranian cyberattacks on the United States soared 170 percent in 2012 and in early 2013, when the 20 biggest U.S. banks were hit by wave after wave of attacks. Iran is likely to remain a third-tier cyber power behind the United States, China and Russia. But the asymmetrical nature of cyber warfare and the increasing U.S. dependence on technology give Iran a dangerous amount of leverage.

Earlier this year, U.S. intelligence officials warned that cyber warfare represents the top threat to national security. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, FBI Director Robert Mueller and CIA Director John Brennan all testified that they consider cyberattacks to pose a greater threat to the United States than al-Qaeda. Officials further identified Iran as the world’s greatest potential aggressor. Iran claims to possess the fourth-largest cyberforce in the world, and is increasingly using that force against Western targets.

Source: www.lignet.com