crime
Iran: USA and Israel behind cyber attack on petrol station network
A man refueled his car at a gas station. The Iranian President has strongly condemned the cyber attack on the nationwide payment system in gas stations. Photo: Vahid Salemi / AP / dpa
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Chaos at the petrol stations in Tehran: all of a sudden, subsidy cards were no longer accepted across the country – the fuel price doubled. Iran is safe: a targeted hacker attack.
Iran has blamed its political arch enemies Israel and the USA for the cyber attack on the nationwide gas station network.
“The investigations are still ongoing, but we believe that the Americans and the Zionists (Israelis) are definitely behind it,” said Gholamresa Jalali, head of the cyber security department, according to media reports on Sunday.
The cyber attack on the payment system of the petrol stations caused long lines and chaos in the capital Tehran and other cities on Wednesday. At many petrol stations, Iranians could only refuel with subsidized petrol without their card, but the fuel was then twice as expensive. Iran initially spoke of a “technical defect”, but later confirmed the cyber attack. Israel has launched several cyber attacks on the Iranian nuclear organization’s network over the past few years, causing significant financial damage.
In the same context, an alleged Iranian hacker group called “Gonjeshk’e Darandeh” (“Wilder Sparrow” or “Killer Sparrow”) declared itself responsible for the attack. The action was in connection with the riots in 2019 because of the increased gasoline prices and a protest against the killing and arrest of hundreds of demonstrators. The group is also believed to have hacked the rail network and surveillance cameras at Ewin Prison.