UDPATE:Cyber-Attack Targets Iran Oil, But Exports Normal-Officials
April 23 2012 - 12:35PM
Dow Jones News
Iranian authorities are investigating alleged cyber-attacks
against Iran's oil ministry and possibly against the key export
hub, though oil shipments haven't been affected, Iranian oil
officials said Monday.
The computer attack--reminiscent of a virus that allegedly
targeted Tehran's nuclear program in 2010--highlights potential new
vulnerabilities for the Islamic Republic's oil exports, which
international sanctions have already impeded.
Personnel at the Kharg oil terminal haven't been able to send or
receive any e-mail since Sunday, said an oil official at the
terminal, through which at least 80% of Iran's exports are shipped
abroad. An investigation has begun into the suspected cyber-attack,
he said.
But the e-mail shutoff is having "no effect on the exports," the
oil official said. "There is a normal procedure at the terminal. We
are using telephone, fax, SMS."
Iran's oil ministry website has also come under a cyber-attack,
said Alireza Nikzad, a ministry spokesman, in a statement.
The ministry said its public web servers are isolated from the
main servers.
"Critical oil [data] have not been compromised," Nikzad
said.
The National Iranian Oil Co.'s website was also reportedly
attacked. Both websites had been shut down for a few hours before
returning to service, Iranian news agencies said.
In 2010, a cyber-attack in Iran using a highly sophisticated
computer virus, called the Stuxnet worm, penetrated at least 30,000
computers. The virus specifically targeted machines linked to
centrifuges carrying out uranium enrichment for its nuclear
program.
Last month, Iran responded to the online threat by establishing
a Supreme Council of Cyberspace--an initiative critics say will
make a crackdown on Internet activists even worse.
Even before the current cyber-attacks, U.S. banking sanctions
and a planned European embargo had targeted Iran's oil exports,
which generate the majority of the Iranian government's
revenue.
Last month, Iran's oil exports fell by 14%, declining for the
first time this year, according to the Petro-Logistics oil
consultancy.
Iran recently resumed talks with the five permanent members of
the United Nations Security Council and Germany, but Western
governments have said they would continue to oppose Iran's nuclear
program, which they suspect has military aims. Iran has said its
nuclear program is only for peaceful uses.
-By Benoit Faucon; Dow Jones Newswires; +44 20 7842 9266;
benoit.faucon@dowjones.com
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