In retaliation for Teheran’s earlier attempted cyberattack on Israel’s rural water distribution systems, the IDF cyber unit targeted Iran’s largest port operational system, which reportedly caused far more than the 3 days damage previously admitted to by Iranian officials.

By Ynet, Reuters

Israel appears to be behind a cyberattack earlier this month on computers at Iran’s Shahid Rajaee port that caused massive backups on waterways and roads leading to the facility, the Washington Post reported on Monday.

Citing unnamed U.S. and foreign government officials, the Post said the May 9 disruption of Iranian computers was presumably in retaliation for an earlier attempted cyberattack on rural water distribution systems in Israel.

Israeli Police scour the Kinneret, water source for Israel’s northern agricultural settlements. – Photo: Emek HaYarden Regional Council

The Israeli Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters on the Post report.

The managing director of Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization, Mohammad Rastad, told Iran’s ILNA news agency last week that the cyberattack did not penetrate the organization’s computers and was only able to infiltrate and damage a number of private operating systems.

A foreign government security official said, however, the attack was “highly accurate” and the damage to the Iranian port was more serious than described in official Iranian accounts, according to the Post.

The Post reported on May 8 that Iran was linked to the attempted cyberattack on the Israeli water network in April.

Shahid Rajaee Port by Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO).

The intrusion targeted several Water Authority facilities and was thwarted before significant damage was done, the Post said, citing officials familiar with the incident.

Israeli cybersecurity officials gave an immediate order to all sites affected to change passwords and take steps to stop any breach of their systems while some sites were instructed to go offline.

Daniel Lacker, who heads the Water Authority’s security department, reported the attack.

“We have received a number of reports regarding a cyberattack on the systems. No damage was reported during the incident.”

The Water Authority said in response: “Attempted cyberattacks are not new and are constantly addressed by experts.”

According to the report, the Iranian hackers used American servers to launch their attack.

View original Ynet publication at:
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/SJrBTJWo8

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