US launched cyber attacks on Iran after drone downed: reports
A handout file picture from the media office of Iran's supreme leader dated May 11, 2014 and obtained by AFP on June 21, 2019, shows a Khordad-3 air defence system during a visit to a Revolutionary Guards air force achievement exhibition in Tehran. PHOTO | HO | IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER'S WEBSITE | AFP
What you need to know:
The attack crippled computers used to control rocket and missile launches, according to the Post, which cited people familiar with the matter.
US defence officials refused to confirm the reports.
Tensions are high between the US and Iran once again following Trump's move more than one year ago to leave a multinational accord curbing Iran's nuclear ambition.
WASHINGTON,
The United States launched cyber attacks against Iranian missile control systems and a spy network this week after Tehran downed an American surveillance drone, US media reported on Saturday.
US President Donald Trump ordered a retaliatory military strike against Iran after the drone shoot-down but then called it off, saying the response wouldn't be "proportionate" and instead pledged new sanctions on the country.
But after the drone's downing, Trump secretly authorised US Cyber Command to carry out a retaliatory cyber attack on Iran, The Washington Post reported.
The attack crippled computers used to control rocket and missile launches, according to the Post, which cited people familiar with the matter.
'SPYING GROUP'
Yahoo cited two former intelligence officials as saying the US targeted a spying group responsible for tracking ships in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, where Washington has blamed Iran for two recent mine attacks on oil tankers.
The Post said the strikes, which caused no casualties, had been planned for weeks and were first proposed as a response to the tanker attacks.
US defence officials refused to confirm the reports.
"As a matter of policy and for operational security, we do not discuss cyberspace operations, intelligence or planning," Defence Department spokeswoman Heather Babb told AFP.
'MAJOR' SANCTIONS
Tensions are high between the US and Iran once again following Trump's move more than one year ago to leave a multinational accord curbing Iran's nuclear ambition.
His administration has instead imposed a robust slate of punitive economic sanctions designed to choke off Iranian oil sales and cripple its economy.
On Saturday, Trump said the US would put "major" new sanctions on Iran next week.
Tehran said it shot down the US drone on Thursday after it violated Iranian airspace — something Washington denies.
Meanwhile, Iran has denied responsibility for the tanker attacks, and a top military official on Saturday pledged to "set fire to the interests of America and its allies" if the US attacks.
These cyber attacks aren't the first time the US and Iran have duelled online.
The Stuxnet virus, discovered in 2010, is believed to have been engineered by Israel and the US to damage nuclear facilities in Iran.
And Tehran is believed to have stepped up its own cyber capabilities in the face of US efforts to isolate the Islamic republic.
