A new “cyber” offensive coming from Tehran? American authorities suspect Iranian hackers have infiltrated multiple times into the computer systems related to gas stations in several American states, CNN revealed on Friday.
Their goal? To change the information displayed on the gas station fuel tanks (indicating a tank is empty when it is not, indicating it is full when it is almost empty, etc.), some of which had no password protection. This could confuse users without causing real material damage.
However, these intrusions raise concerns about cybersecurity. Several experts interviewed by CNN fear that access to such a system could theoretically allow the hacker to trigger a leak of undetectable gas, which would cause much more serious damage.
Iran suspected, for lack of evidence
Sources of the investigation cited by the American media indicate that the Iranian regime has a history of targeting gas tank systems. This is why Tehran is considered suspicious by American authorities.
These same sources claim that the American government may never be able to determine with certainty the responsible parties due to lack of sufficient digital evidence.
Since the beginning of the war waged by the United States and Israel against Iran, which has driven up gasoline prices worldwide, several reports indicate an increase in cyberattacks orchestrated by Tehran.
Among the actions detected since the start of the conflict, the cybersecurity intelligence company Unit 42 and the Israeli cybersecurity specialist Check Point have identified a massive phishing attempt targeting Israelis, which they attribute to Iran.
The attackers have taken advantage of vulnerabilities in the Home Front Command application, widely used for providing alerts and emergency information, to send mass SMS messages to users urging them to download an update.
Among the main focuses of Iranian cyber activity: attacks aimed at extracting information, disinformation campaigns on social networks, recruiting agents in target countries, and harassing Iranians in exile.
