2023-12-18 09:20:03
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Nearly 70% of gas stations in Iran were out of service on Monday, according to Iranian state television, which cited possible sabotage, a reference to cyberattacks.
A “software problem” caused the complications, said the report, which urged people not to flock to gas stations still in service.
Israeli media such as the Times of Israel attributed the event to a group of hackers known as “Gonjeshke Darande”, or predatory sparrow.
More than 30% of gas stations were still operational, according to a statement from the Ministry of Petroleum cited by state television. The country has more than 33,000 service stations.
In recent years, Iran has suffered several cyberattacks once morest gas stations, railways and industries. Security cameras in government buildings such as prisons have also been hacked.
The Gonjeshke Darande group hacked a major metallurgical company in the southwest of the country in 2022. A cyberattack on Iran’s fuel distribution system in 2021 paralyzed gas stations across the country, causing long lines of angry drivers. The hacking group also claimed responsibility for the attack on the gasoline pumps.
The country disconnected much of its government infrastructure from the Internet following the Stuxnet computer virus — widely considered a creation of the United States and Israel — interfered with thousands of centrifuges at Iranian nuclear facilities in the late 2000s.
Iran has been subject to Western sanctions for years and has struggled to obtain modern hardware and software, often relying on Chinese-made or older electronic equipment that no longer receives updates from manufacturers. That would make it easier for a potential attacker to gain access to the system. Pirated versions of Windows and other computer programs are common in Iran.
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