US Accused Iran Of Hacking Energy Companies

It seems that Iran is trying to prove it can be almost as menacing as China. The country has apparently hacked a number of the American energy companies. Press reports reveal that the hackers managed to access control system software in a number of oil, gas and power corporations. In response, the US officials went as far as to compare the attacks to cyber reconnaissance missions. The American authorities believe that the small scale attacks could be used to find the way to disrupt services later. In other words, in case of war, it is alleged that Iran would be able to target American infrastructure.

Security experts point out that in theory, attacks on control systems may also inflict crippling physical damage. For example, this may happen if the attack turns off safety features, like automatic lubrication of generators and other essential equipment.

Actually, this isn’t the first time the United States has accused Iran of hacker attacks. Earlier, Iran has allegedly targeted American banks with massive DDoS attacks. In addition, the country is said to be aggressively expanding its cyber warfare capabilities. It seems that Iran started taking cyber warfare more seriously after the country was struck by the Stuxnet virus.