Israel silent as massive computer virus attacks Iran

An Israeli TV report revealed that Tehran’s strategic networks were under siege, just hours after news broke that Israel helped foil an Iranian assassination plot in Denmark.

By World Israel News Staff

On Wednesday, Israel’s Hadashot news reported that Iranian strategic computer networks and other infrastructure were attacked over the course of several days by a computer virus compared to the virulent Stuxnet virus, only more “advanced and sophisticated.”

The Iranians for their part are still refusing to admit the extent of the damage, according to Hadashot.

Stuxnet refers to a computer virus that struck eight years ago, which many believe was developed jointly by the Israeli and American intelligence agencies. The virus successfully infiltrated Iran’s illegal nuclear program, hijacking centrifuges and forcing them to operate at heightened speeds, which was detrimental to the enrichment process.

On Sunday, Iran’s civil defense chief, Gholamreza Jalali, claimed Tehran had control of the new virus.

Meanwhile, Israel has remained silent on the cyber offensive, with Hadashot reporting, “We tried to clarify. [Israeli intelligence is] refusing to comment.”

The Mossad did, however, reveal on Wednesday its role in foiling an alleged Iranian assassination plot slated to be carried out on Danish soil. Denmark responded by recalling its ambassador and calling for new European Union sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

Just a few days prior, Iran announced that the phone of its president, Hassan Rouhani, had been tapped with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declaring subsequently, “In the face of the enemy’s complex practices, our civil defense should . . . confront infiltration,” Reuters reported based on Iranian state TV coverage.

Computer VirusCyber attackHassan RouhaniMossadStuxnetYossi Cohen