Iranian Cyber Army Explained

The Iranian Cyber Army is an Iranian computer hacker group. It is thought to be connected to the Iranian government, although it is not officially recognized as an entity by the government.^[1] It has pledged loyalty to Supreme Leader of Iran.^{[2] [3]}

According to Tehran Bureau, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard initiated plans for the formation of an Iranian Cyber Army in 2005. The organisation is believed to have been commanded by Mohammad Hussein Tajik until his assassination.^{[4] [5]}

The group has claimed responsibility for several attacks conducted over the Internet since 2009, most notably attacks against Baidu and Twitter.^[6] The attack against Baidu resulted in the so-called Sino-Iranian Hacker War. In 2012, a group self-identified as "Parastoo" (Persian: پرستو - Swallow) hacked the International Atomic Energy Agency's servers: the Iranian Cyber Army is suspected of being behind the attack.^[7]

In 2013, a general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards stated that Iran had "the 4th biggest cyber power among the world's cyber armies", a claim supported by the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies.^[8]

See also

• Cyberwarfare in Iran
• Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Cyber Security Command

Notes and References

1. Web site: Alex. Lukich. The Iranian Cyber Army. Center for Strategic and International Studies. March 18, 2015. July 12, 2011. April 2, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402112200/http://csis.org/blog/iranian-cyber-army. dead.
2. News: Charles . Arthur. Twitter hack by 'Iranian Cyber Army' is really just misdirection . The Guardian. March 18, 2015. December 18, 2009.
3. Web site: 2021-06-15 . Iranian cyber army role in Iran's presidential elections . 2024-07-05 . IFMAT . en-US.
4. News: Iran creates 'Cyber Brigades' for online war . . December 5, 2016 . Al Arabiya.net has previously revealed in a special report published last September, the assassination of 35-year-old Tajik, the former commander of the ‘Cyber Army’ of the Ministry of intelligence after he was accused of spying and purveying security information to opposition activists of the ‘Green Movement.’ Tajik was also a member of the intelligence units of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Quds Forces..
5. News: Secret details emerge on Iran's Cyber Army . Al Arabiya . Saleh . Hamid . January 15, 2017 . January 18, 2017.
6. Web site: Farvartish. Rezvaniyeh. Pulling the Strings of the Net: Iran's Cyber Army. Tehran Bureau. March 18, 2015. February 26, 2010.
7. News: Eli . Lake . Did Iran's Cyber-Army Hack Into the IAEA's computers?. the Daily Beast. March 18, 2015. May 12, 2012.
8. News: Israeli Think Tank Acknowledges Iran as Major Cyber Power, Iran Claims its 4th Biggest Cyber Army in World. HackRead. March 18, 2015. October 18, 2013.