Islam Times - Iran identifies cyber attackers on Oil Ministry

Islam Times - Iran’s Deputy Oil Minister Hamdollah Mohammadnejad says the target of and the perpetrators behind the recent cyber attack on the ministry have been identified.

“The nature of the attack and the agents behind it have been identified but because we are still working on the case it cannot be announced,” Mohammadnejad told Fars News Agency on Saturday.

“In general, the attack was in the form of a virus that aimed to steal and damage data,” the official said, adding that those who designed the malware “pursued certain objectives.”

He said after the malware attack was discovered the ministry’s cyber team immediately established an expert committee and disconnected the internal structure’s access to internet.

They came up with strategies to counter the attack after conducting necessary investigations, Mohammadnejad added.

He went on to say that the cyber system of the ministry is currently working properly and the servers have been recovered and put in service again.

On Monday, April 23, the Iranian Oil Ministry spokesman said a cyber attack targeting the ministry and the National Iranian Oil Company have failed to damage any key data.

“The cyber attack has not damaged the main data of the Oil Ministry and the National Iranian Oil Company since public servers are separate from the main ones; they have different [network] wirings and are not connected to the Internet,” Ali-Reza Nikzad said.