Iran Beefs Up Cybersecurity

Hamid Fattahi also told IRNA, “After Digital Fortress and SOC [security operations center] were set up, Iran’s capability in detecting and deterring cyberattacks surged.”

Digital Fortress was unveiled by Iran’s ICT Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi in May to shield the country from increasing cyber threats targeting Iran’s infrastructure and online businesses.

SOC is a centralized unit that deals with security issues on an organizational and technical level. It is a central location within a building or facility from where staff members supervise the site, using data processing technology, Financial Tribune reported.

According to Fattahi, the number of cyberattacks that Iran can now identify and fend off has observed a 200% jump.

Over the past few months, Iranian ICT officials have often cautioned against the rising number of cyber threats targeting the country.

The Digital Fortress aims to protect citizens’ privacy, deter cyberattacks on infrastructure, help sustain digital services, combat data breaches and online fraud, in addition to detecting malware and stopping its spread.

It will also help Iran prevent denial-of-service strikes and protect the country’s industrial infrastructure against cyber espionage and sabotage attacks.

Jahromi said, “The Digital Fortress has been developed with an investment of 200 billion rials ($1.8 million) and includes 10 sub-projects. The operational costs of the system will amount to 300 billion rials ($2.7 million).”

He added that with the noteworthy growth in Iran’s digital economy, the number of cyber threats has also increased.

Jahromi noted that as more and more people rely on online services with every passing day, disruptions in e-banking or services offered by ride-hailing companies or other Internet-based firms, in addition to upsetting people’s lives, will certainly take a toll on the economy.

“Backed by Iran IT Organization, young academicians have developed a firewall that can protect the country’s industrial infrastructure against cyberattacks like Stuxnet,” he said.

The firewall is one of the sub-projects of the Digital Fortress.

The minister explained that the cybersecurity tool can be employed for protecting the country’s key infrastructure, such as power distribution network. 

“The firewall has been successfully tested. After securing the approval of the High Council of Cyberspace, the firewall will be deployed to protect Iran’s key industrial infrastructure,” he said.

First detected in 2010, Stuxnet is believed to be the joint work of the US and Israel, a claim that whistleblower Edward Snowden confirmed in a 2013 interview but which has never been acknowledged by either government.